Caged
by SweetDeceit
Summary: Beacon Hills' girls lacrosse star Avery Chastings has felt controlled all her life, one night she decides to take control back for herself. But when the night takes a tragic turn for the worse, Avery is left in a coma. When she wakes up, she has no memory of what happened and her life is shattered. She begins moving on, but finds something new is lurking within her. Derek/OC
1. An Intro

_**Author's Note: Alright so this is my first Teen Wolf fanfic and only my second fanfic ever, so please be nice. This story takes place after season 1, with the pairing being my OC, Avery Chastings, and the unbelievably sexy Derek Hale ^_^ **_

_**I haven't decided yet whether or not this will follow the story line much, I don't think it will, but I'm only starting to watch season 2 now so things might change. This chapter is more like an intro, I'm really bad at the beginnings of stories but I promise next chapter will be pretty cool. (That's when Derek comes in) **_

**_The point of view will shift a lot in later chapters but not in this one_**

* * *

**Avery**

I let the front door close behind me and set my lacrosse bag and stick on the ground, "And why they **ever** let that Blair girl play is beyond me," my mom says as she storms ahead of me into the kitchen, I hear her purse slam down on the kitchen table, "the girl couldn't score if we gave her a soccer goal to shoot at, and you can park a semi in those things!" I slowly lower myself to the ground, sending pain shooting up my thighs, I untie my cleats that I hadn't bothered to take off after the post-game team talk. I stand back up and kick the cleats on to the mat that covers the wooden floor. I limp into the living room and fall back on the couch.

"And those referees! They were terrible!" I take in a shaky breath, my lungs still burn, everything still burns. The slamming of pots on the stove and the clanking of plates rings from the kitchen. My hair sticks to my head, cool sweat keeping it in place, I don't even want to think about how disgusting I look.

I look down to see my legs are a bright red, along with splotches of brown from the dirt and mud of the field. The tops of my thighs burn from constantly having to sprint from one end of the field to the other. But I guess that's what's wrong with being a midfielder in lacrosse, running all game long, no matter what. "Oh, Avery," my mom lets out a sigh of disgust, I look over to see her in the doorway to the kitchen, "get off the couch," her voice is grating and nagging, just like always, "go get cleaned up and ready for dinner."

Everyone's always complimenting me on my looks, but I'm nowhere near as beautiful as my mom. With long, wavy, auburn hair, a subtle glow to her pale skin, large, stunning blue eyes, along with a tall, toned frame, my mom's physique has always been that of a dancer. And I guess that's fitting since she used to be an amazing ballerina.

My mom's always pushed me to take up ballet myself, trying to mold me into a dancer as graceful and elegant as she was. I remember when I was eight, stealing the video tapes of her performances in shows like _The Nutcracker _that she kept in a cabinet near the T.V. and watching in awe as she seemed to float across the stage with ease. I used to dream of being just like her.

She even started her own ballerina studio, which she still forces me to attend, in hopes that I might fall in love with it as she had. But over the years, my mother has become more like an instructor than a mom.

When I don't make a move to get off the couch, my mom folds her arms across her chest and leans against the door frame, a sour look on her face, "It's not the end of the world, darling." I turn my head towards the ceiling and close my eyes as she continues trying to comfort me, "You still have next year."

I wince at that, "We couldn't do it my freshman year, couldn't beat them sophomore year, and now here we are again, junior year," my heart aches at the thought that we'd given it our all, and it still wasn't enough, "it won't be any different next year."

Every year the girl's lacrosse team at Beacon Hills makes it to the regional championship and every year we lose to Walkerton high school. Meanwhile every year the boys win states. I had hopes that this would be the year; that we'd finally beat them. But once again, I was wrong.

The score at halftime was 7-7, and we could've done it, but by the halfway mark in the second half, we were too tired. We ended up losing 14-10.

"You don't know that," my mom says in an unusually soft voice, "you don't know who's coming in next year, maybe the freshmen will change things." She turns back to the kitchen, "You'll always have dance." She says with a ring in her voice as she strides back into the kitchen.

I lay there on the couch for a few more minutes before I find the heart to drag myself to the stairs. Every step makes my thighs burn all the more and by the time I reach the top, I feel as if they're on fire. I limp into my room, flipping on the light as I enter and carelessly tossing my jersey onto the floor as I drag myself towards my bathroom across the room.

My room is small, but it has a bathroom inside it which is a big plus for me. I peel off my shorts, spandex, sports bra, and mid-calf socks as I make my way toward the bathroom, not caring that my drapes are slightly open.

I flip the light on in my bathroom and immediately head for the shower. I turn the nob toward the blessed 'H' engraved on the metal, and water begins sputtering out of the shower head, until it reaches a steady flow. I turn back to close my bathroom door, and then turn my faucet on to help the warm water get to the shower faster.

I look up into the mirror and practically wince; my hair is frizzy from California's heat, my cheeks are the same color red as my legs, and a large mud smear covers my forehead. I close my eyes and breathe in the steam that floats up from the water pooling in the sink. I reach back and pull the hair tie from my braid that reaches past my shoulder blades.

My medium brown hair slowly unfurls itself from the braid's mold, though the sweat keeps the hair on my scalp in place. I take in another deep breathe, my lungs are already feeling better. Now if only my legs would stop burning…..

I've always though I've had an awkward body, the proportion of my legs to my torso just doesn't seem fitting. My mom's always said that my legs are something any ballerina would be envious of, but to me they just seem strange.

I take one last glance at my 5'7'' bare, sweaty, dirt-covered frame before I sigh, turn off the faucet and step into the shower. I watch as the mud and dirt is swept away by the hot water and soap. I quickly shampoo and condition my hair, leaving the scent of peaches in my hair. I turn the water off, and grab my towel from the rack and step out of the shower.

I wrap my towel tightly around my torso and grab a smaller towel off the counter for my hair. I dry my hair as best I can and then begin the task of combing it out. Knots have since formed magically all through it, making combing a hassle.

My eyes are dark blue, nowhere near the bright, attention seizing icy color of my mother's. How I ended up with dark blue I'll never know, both my parents have light blue. I finish combing my hair and flip the light off.

I walk back into my room and grab an over-sized Beacon Hills sweatshirt and throw it on so I won't have to wear a bra. I pull on some old black sweat pants and make my way back downstairs. I find my mom sitting at the kitchen table, eating a plate of spaghetti and sipping on a glass of red wine.

I look to see an identical plate across the table from her, "There you are, darling." I walk to the fridge and grab a water bottle from the top shelf. I sit down and I eat dinner quickly, neither one of us says much, that's how it always is after a lacrosse game, my mom resents lacrosse, she thinks it's only a distraction from ballet.

"Thanks, mom." I say quietly as I grab my plate and set it in the sink. I walk to my lacrosse bag and rummage through it until I find my phone. I check it for messages, but find nothing. I sigh and pace back to the kitchen. "I'm just gonna go to bed," I say in a flat voice.

My mom just gives me a cold look, "Why don't you just quit lacrosse already?" I roll my eyes.

"Mom, I love it, and I'm already committed to play in college, so I think it's a little late." My mom just stares back at me with her icy blue eyes.

"It's only a verbal commitment, you can still change your mind, Avery." I sigh, we've been over this countless times.

"Mom, I want to play." My head begins to ache.

"Why? So you can feel like shit every time you lose a big game? There's no losing in the ballet." She emphasizes the last word with a sweet voice. I shake my head.

"Mom, I really can't do this right now, I'm going to bed." I say as I make my way to the stairs.

"You sound just like your father," I hear her mumble and give a sour chuckle. I pause for a moment at the bottom of the stairs, listening to see if she'll say anything more.

But only silence fills the house, just like always. I slowly make my way back up the stairs and into my bedroom.

The lavender of the walls hurts my head, which aches even more now. I throw myself unto my messy bed face down in the pillows. After a minute, my phone starts to vibrate. I turn over and bring my phone up to see the screen.

_Incoming call: Jake Reily _

I smile, and hit the answer button. "Hey," I say, my mood brightened almost instantly.

"Hey, babe, how'd the game go?" Jake and I are unofficially going out, though nothing big has really happened between us yet. I sigh and close my eyes at the thought of the reason I was in a bad mood.

"We lost," I say flatly, "how about yours?" Jake plays defense on the boy's lacrosse team, they also played their regional championship tonight at Redfield high.

"Sorry to hear that, Ave," he pauses, "we won," which would make them regional champs, again, and on their way to states, where they'll win, again.

"That's great," my voice is flat, and I can't find any heart to make it sound anything **but** flat. I can hear the sound of the boy's lacrosse team screaming in the background, no doubt celebrating their victory.

"You sound down," he says that like it's surprising, "you alright? Do you want me to come over for a little while?" I look at the clock, 10:30.

"Umm, it's a little late."

"C'mon, Ave," I can hear the smile in his voice, "I can cheer you up." There's an innuendo in there somewhere, I'm sure, but I'm too tired to care.

"No, I'm sorry Jake, but my mom would kill me…" I hear him sigh on the other end of the line.

"…..Alright, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah, see ya then." I press the end button and then walk to turn out the light. I flip the switch and then crawl into bed, my muscles beginning to throb again. I close my eyes and ignore the pain, hoping it'll be fine tomorrow.

My alarm screams at me to wake up, but my heavy eyes tell me to go back to sleep. I reach over and slam the snooze button down and fall back to sleep for five more minutes.

The alarm sounds again and this time I pull myself out of bed and begin the hunt for clothes to wear. I'm still sore all over, but it's not as bad as it was last night. I search my drawers and closet for an outfit and in the end I decide on a pair of dark skinny jeans, a simple pair of brown sandals, and an ivory lace peplum top.

I quickly cover my face with foundation and then do my mascara and eyeliner, I add lip gloss just for an extra touch. I run my hands through my long, light brown hair, giving my wavy hair some volume. Overall, I look pretty damn good today. I grab my backpack and keys and head out.

My mom doesn't wake up for a while since her job as a ballet instructor doesn't start until the afternoon. What's more, the ballet studio is in our basement, so she runs the classes from home.

I push the unlock button on the remote and the plain black Chevy sedan lights up. My mom had bought this used car for my seventeenth birthday about a year ago, it isn't much, but it's a car, and that's good enough for me.

I drive to school and zip in to my parking spot with ease. I swing my car door open and step out into the warm sunlight. Students clutter the campus, some sitting on the hoods of their cars talking, some walking into the building, skateboarders and bicyclists weave through the crowd easily.

I take a deep breath, the morning air is already thick with heat, the fourth and final quarter of my junior year is almost over, and summer is nearly here. All that's left is to take final exams, which start today. I never study for exams, I find I always do terrible on them if I spend my time stressing and studying.

I look over the campus and smile as I catch sight of my best friend Tori and Jake talking in the middle of the school's lawn. Tori looks my way and gives me a wave to come over. I lean into my car to grab my backpack in the passenger seat. I toss one strap over my shoulder and close the car door, locking it as I turn away with the remote control.

I make my way across the parking lot and step unto the crowded sidewalk when a frantic voice calls out from my left, "SCOTT! SCO-" something slams into me and next thing I know, I'm on the ground with something heavy on top of me.

I open my eyes to see a pair of wide, wild light brown eyes staring back at me, a familiar pair of brown eyes. Stiles Stilinski is laying on top of me, his hot breath brushes over my neck as he pants from whatever he was doing before he ended up on top of me. "Oh, Avery," he says in surprise, I just lay there waiting for him to get up.

"Hi," he says after a moment.

"Umm, Stiles?" I say quietly, the sound of laughing comes from all around us. "Get off me!" My voice is harsh, I can feel my cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

All of a sudden, Stiles is hauled up and off of me, and Tori leans down to help me up. Jake holds Stiles by the collar of his jacket, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Stilinski?" He hisses. I take Tori's hand and she pulls me up. I brush the front of my lace shirt off.

"Oh no, Ave," Tori says as she looks at my back.

"What? What is it?" I say, my eyes going wide with worry. How much worse can this get, really? It seems like everyone is watching us, my face burns and I doubt my foundation can cover up the shade of crimson I must be by this point.

"There's dirt all down your back." Tori says in a shocked tone. I gasp and try to see the dirt stains as another figure joins our scene.

"Hey, let him go," Scott McCall says as he touches Jake's shoulder, since Scott is co-captain of the lacrosse team, Jake releases Stiles with little more than a grunt and a shove. Tori begins madly sweeping her hand across my back in an attempt to brush the dirt from my back.

Meanwhile Scott bends down and grabs a few papers that had fallen out of my backpack, he slips them back into my bag and stands up to hand it to me. "I'm really sorry about that," he says, his dark brown eyes are sincere, I give a polite smile as Tori stops brushing my shirt and comes to stand by my side.

"It's fine," I say, letting out a sigh of displeasure.

"I tried my best," Tori says as she brushes a strand of her short blonde hair out of her eyes, "but it won't come out." She gives what looks like a pout, but I ignore it.

I sling my backpack over my shoulder again as Stiles walks back over to us. Jake steps out in front of him so he can't get very close, but Stiles doesn't seem to care, "Hey, Avery, I'm-I'm so sorry." Stiles has always seemed like the poster child for ADHD, but he's always been a sweet guy, maybe a little odd, but sweet.

"Don't worry about it," I sigh as I look around again to see everyone still staring at us. Tori and Jake quickly move into action, Tori takes me by the arm and leads me to the entrance of the school, giving her best 'nothing's wrong here' smile as Jake walks behind us both, doing his best to hide the dirt stain on my back.

"That Stiles guy is such a freak," Tori says, still somehow managing to keep her glowing smile.

"I'll tell you one thing, if McCall hadn't been there to save his ass-" Jake starts as we walk through the doors and into the school.

"Hey can you guys just walk with me to my locker?" I ask, still feeling like everyone is staring at me. Tori nods her head enthusiastically.

"Of course!" she says in a peppy voice. Tori and I have been friends for as long as I can remember, she's always had my back, I guess that's more in a literal sense right now…

The three of us make it to my locker, with Jake walking closely behind me, effectively hiding my back from view. Once we get there, Tori gives me a sly smile, a wink, and slips away to leave me alone with Jake.

I unlock my locker easily and pull out the spare jacket I always keep in there just in case of a rainy day. I drop my backpack and slip it on, "You know," Jake begins with his usual smooth voice, I turn to stare into his soft grey eyes, "Jackson's having a party this Saturday, and I was hoping you'd go with me as my date." Our relationship is what I'd call 'super-extra-mega complicated'.

We've been flirting non-stop all year, he calls me on the phone, calls me 'babe' and we've made out a couple times, and he's tried to get me to go further with him, but I don't know what it is that holds me back from just giving in to him.

Then again, he's proved he's loyal, he's been around all year, and not a lot of boys would do that after they find out they get shut down a couple times.

"Saturday?" I smile, "I'd have to check with my mom, but I'd like that." He gives a charming smile, his short brown hair is gelled perfectly and as he leans in to kiss me, I catch the smell of his cologne.

Our lips meet for a quick kiss and as he leans back he gives another smile while he looks into my eyes, "Pick you up at 9?" I give a small laugh of agreement and he leans in for another quick kiss.

The bell rings and we both go our separate ways to our classrooms for our exams, and ultimately, judgment time.

I walk into my chemistry class and take a seat at one of the heavy black lab tables that are scattered throughout the room. My classmates filter in and slowly find their seats. Scott and Stiles walk in together just like always, with the two of them whispering back and forth, also just like always.

"Hey, Ave," a voice to my right calls, I turn to see Jackson sitting at the table across from me, "read the paper yet?" he gives a wicked grin as he holds up the local newspaper's sport section.

**Beacon Hills girl's lacrosse: Back to Square One**

The picture below the headline shows me cradling the ball with a Walkerston player playing defense on me. Jackson turns the paper back around towards him, " 'Maryland -committed Midfielder Avery Chastings played strong, but seemed to tire halfway through the game, allowing Walkerston the room they needed to pull away for the win.'"

I turn away as he chuckles, "Fuck you, Jackson." I hear Scott snort and laugh. Jackson can be a dick sometimes, but he's normally okay around me, I guess not today though.

Scott and Stiles are two of only five sophomores in this class, which is why the stick together so much, I guess. They take the seats at the table in front of me, Stiles turns and gives me a smile as he turns to sit. I just look down to the table as my exam is placed in front of me. I hear Stiles sigh as he too turns back to his exam.

* * *

The chemistry exam was actually pretty easy, though I can't help feeling that the fact that I thought it was easy is because I failed it.

I push the thought from my mind as I start my car and back out of my parking spot. I turn the radio on just as "One More Night" by Maroon 5 comes on. I roll down the windows and the resulting winds sweeps my hair all around me.

I find myself thinking about Jake and our 'date' this Saturday, though I'm not sure how I'm going to get my mom to agree. She's always been a stickler when it comes to anything with the word 'party' in it. To her, parties mean beer, drugs, and mistakes.

Even when I was twelve, she was reluctant to let me go to my friend's birthday parties, though for different reasons than booze, I'm sure.

_I'll have to ask her at the perfect time, when she's in a really good mood…. Which would be after Saturday morning ballet class; if I practice really well, maybe she'll actually let me go. _

I nod my head; that's my plan, I'll ask after practice.

I turn onto my street and back up into my driveway.

_Two days until Saturday, two exams each tomorrow and Friday. After that, I'm officially a senior. _

I smile as I roll my windows back up and turn my car off.

_I can do this. _

* * *

Thursday and Friday sped by in a blur; I'd taken the last of my exams, the boys had once again won States last night, and here I am, Saturday morning, staring at my alarm clock. 9:30 A.M.

I smile, and jump out of bed. My mom's class begins at 10:00 and ends at 11:30. I walk to my dresser and dig through my clothes until I find my light pink tights and matching leotard. I slip my tights on and then pull my leotard up my legs.

I find the small fabric skirt and tie it around my waist, "Tutus are reserved for performances and recitals." My mother's always said.

I pull my brown hair back into a perfect bun and then grab my ballet slippers from my closet, I lace the strings up my legs and tie them in a bow on the back of my calves. I hear the sound of laughing from my basement, along with the greetings of my mother's pupils, no doubt.

I make my way downstairs and from there into the basement, or as my mom calls it, 'the studio'. I walk into the brightly lit room, the wooden floor gleams perfectly, a full length mirror lines one wall, a balance bar running along against the mirror.

The other girls notice my entrance and begin greeting me, "Enough! Girls, get into position." My mom stands in the center of the room, dressed in all black; black tights, black leotard, even black ballet slippers. She does this so she stands out as the instructor.

We all rush to the balance bar, and from there, it feels just like I'm going through the motions; I don't think, don't hear, I just do.

The girls make their ways out, leaving me alone in the studio with my mom. "You did very well today, darling," she says as she turns to make her way back up the stairs, "though your form was waning towards the end."

I follow her up the stairs closely, "Yeah, I've got to work on that," I say, simply trying to get on her good side, "hey I was wondering," we make it up the stairs and my mom turns back to face me, her blue eyes piercing into me, "Jackson's having a party tonight," her stare is cold and harsh, I find myself looking at the ground as I speak, "and I was wondering if I could go."

When she doesn't respond right away, I look up, her face is puzzled, "Jackson, as in the lacrosse boy, Jackson?" I nod my head and she sighs, "No, I'm sorry, Avery, maybe another night." She turns away from me, a lump forms in my throat.

"You always say that," I let slip out as little more than a mumble.

My mom stops dead, and slowly turns around. "What was that?" If there's one thing my mother hates, it's back-talk.

But it's too late now, she already heard me, so backing down is not an option. "You always say that," I say louder, "but it never actually happens."

She comes to stand in front of me, "It's for your own good, I've heard some interesting things about that Jackson from the other moms at your lacrosse games, and you won't be going to any party of **his**. Are we clear?"

I don't say anything, I just turn away and make my way back to my room. I throw myself on my bed, trying my best not to just scream. My phone starts ringing and I reach over and snatch it from my nightstand.

I answer it without looking, "Hello?" I mumble.

"Hey, so are we on for tonight or what?" Jake asks on the other end.

* * *

I give my hair another ruffle and check myself out one last time in the mirror. My pale blue close fitting dress hugs my curves, giving me a satisfactory figure. My push up bra is definitely working, too, my boobs look amazing under the sweetheart neckline.

I grab my black jacket and tuck my phone in its pocket along with my car keys. I pull on my pair of nude booties and then turn to my window. I've never done anything like this, but after another disappointing end to the season, and dealing with my drill sergeant of a mother day after day, I think I deserve a little break.

I've let my mom decide everything way too long, the only thing I have that she doesn't control is lacrosse, it's about time for me to start deciding for myself. And tonight I say: I'm going to Jackson's party.

I toss my jacket into the bushes below, and then brace myself for the jump. I hop out of the window and land smoothly in the small gap between the bushes. I grab my jacket and then jog to my car.

I throw the door open and quickly start the engine, I peel out of the driveway and down the street. I'm sure my mother heard it, I'm sure she'll kill me, I'm sure I'll be grounded until I go to college, but that problem can wait till tomorrow, because for right now, I'm free.

I come to a stoplight and my phone vibrates, I reach over into my jacket's pocket and bring my phone to my face.

_Incoming call: Jake Reily _

I smile and answer it, "Hey," I say as the light turns green.

"Hey, I'm at the party, where are you?"

"On my way." I say with a smile on my face, I can feel the adrenaline in my veins, realizing I'd just seriously snuck out. That, for me, is a huge deal, which is kind of sad coming from a seventeen year-old girl, this is the most rebellious thing I've done.

Maybe I can fix that tonight.

"I don't understand why I couldn't just come pick you up," Jake says unhappily.

"I needed to make a quick exit, I'll explain later," I say quickly.

"Alright, I'll meet you out front then." I hit the 'end' button and toss the phone into the passenger seat.

* * *

I park halfway down the street since there's hardly any space near Jackson's house that isn't taken. I walk up the street and find Jake waiting for me at the end of the driveway. He gives me a quick kiss and takes my hand in his as we walk to the front door.

"So why couldn't I pick you up again?" I give a mischievous grin.

"Because, I had to sneak by mom to get here." He chuckles and gives a smile of his own.

"Oh, watch out we've got a badass over here," he says as he leads me through the door and into the party. The place is packed, everywhere I look there's a couple making out, some friends dancing together, an awkward conversation being had, and in everyone's hand is either a beer can, a red solo cup, or even a bottle of vodka.

"Hey, I'm working on it." I say, trying to pretend like I'm perfectly comfortable in my surroundings.

Jake leads me to the backyard, where a big stereo blasts "Infra-red" by Placebo. The lyrics of the song fill the air.

"_One last thing before I shuffle off the Planet,_

_ I will be the one to make you crawl,_

_ So I came down to wish you an unhappy birthday, _

_ Someone call the ambulance, there's gonna be an accident"_

He lets my hand go as he bends down to grab two beers from a cooler full of ice. He holds the can out to me, and I take it with a smile.

He opens his and takes a big sip, I just look down at it as if it's a foreign object. "What?" he asks, "You don't drink?"

_Ah, fuck it._

I open the can quickly and take a gulp.

The taste is nasty, but I force a smile on my face as I look up into his grey eyes, "I do now." He gives me a big smile as he leans in to kiss me.

* * *

**Scott**

A sliding sound wakes me up, I look to see a figure crawling through my window and onto my bed. I jump up and off my bed, letting out a loud scream. The figure tries to stand up on my bed but stumbles and falls off onto the floor.

"Scott! Scott! It's me!" Stiles looks up at me and jumps up. He pushes the hood of his grey sweatshirt back and straightens his jeans out.

I breathe a sigh of relief, "What are you doing!?" I yell, looking to my alarm clock, "It's 3 in the morning, Stiles!" I give him a small push back, but he brushes by me to my door.

He opens it and motions for me to follow, "C'mon, Scott you've got to see this." Is all he says as he steps out and practically runs down the stairs into my living room. I follow him quickly.

He paces frantically around my living room, his eyes searching for something. "What? What is it, Stiles?" I say, my voice growing steadily more panicked.

Stiles snatches the T.V. remote from the coffee table and then turns toward me, "My dad hasn't come home yet, so I turned on the police radio I took," his eyes are unusually dull, his lids seem to droop, something's really wrong, "and, well, look," he pushes the power button and the T.V. flips on.

"For those just joining us tonight, there's been a car crash on Woodley road involving a confirmed Beacon Hills high school student," a woman reporter says with a concerned look on her face, in the background is Beacon Hills general hospital, police cars line the parking lot, lighting the darkness with flashes of red and blue, "girls varsity lacrosse star Avery Chastings is believed to have been behind the wheel," Avery's lacrosse picture comes on the screen and my heart drops, "police aren't sure what caused the crash but it appears that Chastings' car swerved off the road and collided with a tree."

I look over to see Stiles biting his nails as he stares at the screen. I open my mouth to speak, but Stiles holds up a finger to stop me, "Chastings is said to be in critical condition, we have no information on whether alcohol or speed were factors in this crash." I grab the remote and turn the T.V. off.

I sit down on the couch, "Is she gonna be okay?" I ask, I've never really known Avery that well, other than the occasional conversation in chemistry about ionic bonds. Stiles shrugs.

"They were saying on the radio earlier that she didn't look so good." I let out a heavy breath.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Like I said, I'm really bad at beginnings, next chapter is going to start up right where this one ends. In later chapters I'll be able to give a better picture of Avery's character. I'm still working on a main storyline besides the aftermath of the crash and all that, but I've got a couple good ideas! **_

_**If you liked it and want to see more please leave a review, fav, or follow! This story will be updated randomly, but I'll try to keep update intervals short. **_


	2. A Special Visit

_**Author's Note: Okay, sorry for the wait, I've had a lot of schoolwork lately :/ luckily, school's almost out so soon I'll be able to post way more often! :D **_

_**So, here's the second chapter, I hope everyone enjoys it ^_^**_

* * *

**Scott **

"Do they know what happened? Have they said anything over the radio?" Stiles reaches into the pocket of his hoodie and pulls out the heavy black police radio.

"Not much," he mumbles as he drops down onto the couch beside me, "they were busy trying to get Avery out of the car."

"They couldn't just pull her out?"

Stiles shakes his head, "They said she was losing too much blood to move her right away, the EMTs had to stop some of the bleeding first." Stiles flips the radio on and then the voices of Beacon Hill's policemen fill the room.

_"Any word on the girl's condition?"_ A woman's voice comes on the radio.

After a moment, a response comes in, _"She's still in surgery," _Stiles's dad says in a tired voice, _"nurses say she's got some internal bleeding, they're working on that now but it'll be a while before we know whether or not she'll pull through."_ The static from the radio makes everything all the more harsh, all the more surreal.

Silence fills the room before the woman comes back on, _"Did you get a good look at her before she went into surgery?"_

_"Good enough, why?"_ Stiles's dad asks with an edge in his voice.

_"Something's not right here, Sheriff,"_ the woman sighs, _"I'm at the scene now, but it just doesn't add up, the car is completely totaled, the passenger's side is crushed in," _the woman pauses, I can almost see her peeking into the passenger's side as she continues, _"but the driver's side has barely any damage." _

* * *

**Sheriff Stilinski **

_"but the driver's side has barely any damage."_ I hold my radio up to my face, the volume is low in an effort to keep people from hearing it. I look up and make eye contact with a nurse behind the front desk as she tries to listen in to the radio. She quickly turns away and makes herself look busy.

I push off the wall I've been leaning on for about an hour and a half now and make my way into an empty room. I close the beige door behind me but don't bother flipping the light on. Light pours in from the window, the parking lot lights and flashing police car lights reflect into the plain room.

I walk in and sit at the foot of the white-sheeted bed, I rub my forehead, there's some days I wish I wasn't Sheriff, "What're you getting at, Kelly?"

Kelly is our department's accident reconstruction expert, if she says something's off, then it's either she's right or the evidence is wrong in my book. She's been through a hell of a lot with me and she's a skilled investigator. She knows what to look for, where to find it, and who to go to for information.

_"There's blood all over both of the front seats, not just the driver's side. I think there was someone else in the car."_ I let out a deep sigh, this complicates things.

I run my finger over the push-to-talk button and press it, "You're saying that the passenger's side is completely crushed in, right?" I watch the red and blue lights as they dance around the room's walls.

_"Roger that."_ Kelly says flatly. _"But from the looks of the passenger's side, no one could've walked away from an impact like that." _My eyes go wide in realization of what Kelly is getting at.

This time I slam the talk button in, "You think she was in the passenger's seat when the car crashed?"

_"Exactly."_ I run my hand through my short hair and let out another heavy breath.

_"Tow the car back to the station after you're done with the scene, there's nothing more we can do tonight but pray that she makes it." _I look out the window to see another news van roll into the lot. "We'll get the forensic team to examine the car in the morning."

_"One more thing, Sheriff,"_ Rob's voice comes on the radio, _"there's some reporters out here waiting for you to have a conference."_ I hate press conferences, there's never anything I can tell them besides 'I can't disclose that information,' or 'it's still an ongoing investigation,'

I walk to the window to see a few reporters along with their cameramen standing closely behind a few of my men that I brought with me to keep the press out of the hospital. "I'll be down in a minute." I turn back, pull the door open and walk out of the room.

When I walk back into the waiting room a woman with dark red hair is sitting in one of the chairs talking on the phone. Her hair is nearly perfect, though her eyes are red and her cheeks are tear-stained. "I don't know, Joe!" she whispers in a stern tone.

The woman pauses for a response on the other end before talking again, "I'm not sure, all I know is she was in an accident and they're working on her now." I realize that this must be Avery's mother, I walk and stand in front of her, she looks up and whispers to me, "Just a second."

I nod and take the chair across from hers, "I'm not sure, listen I have to go, the Sheriff is here, you get your ass on the first flight to California, I'm not sure what's going to happen." The woman's voice shakes as her eyes fill with tears. She flips her phone closed as she throws it back into her purse.

"I take it you're Mrs. Chastings?" I ask in a soft voice.

She shakes her head, "Avery's father and I divorced years ago, I go by my maiden name, Reese."

I give a small nod, "Ms. Reese, I'm terribly sorry, I know this must be difficult, but what can you tell me about the last time you saw Avery? Did she say she was going somewhere with anyone? Did she have any plans?"

Ms. Reese wipes her eyes with her hand, "She asked earlier if she could go to some party, but I-I can't remember the name…" Ms. Reese brings her hand up and rubs her forehead, she's visibly shaking and her skin seems abnormally pale. "I can't remember," her face goes from white to red in a matter of seconds as she begins to sob "I'm sorry, it's just everything's so…uncertain right now."

I stand up and walk to her, I kneel down so that she looks at me, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be asking this right now, listen, you try and remember the name and when you do," I reach into my coat pocket and hand her my card, "you call me, alright?" The woman just nods her head as she takes the card from my hand.

I give her a quick hug and leave for the press conference. Normally I'd push for an answer, but I know what she's going through, at least to a lesser degree.

I can never keep tabs on Stiles, and during those crazy 'mountain-lion' attacks a few months ago, I couldn't stop worrying that I would show up to one of the scenes and see Stiles laying there, dead.

But I guess that's the burden of being a parent, constantly worrying about where they are, what they're doing, who they're with, and I guess now for Ms. Reese, whether or not she'll be able to see her little girl again.

I brace myself as I step through the hospital's automatic doors and hear the reporters all begin calling out questions of the accident, Avery's condition, and the investigation.

It's going to be a long night.

* * *

**Stiles **

"But what can we do?! They probably won't even let us in!" Scott calls out behind me, but I ignore him as I unlock my old jeep's door. I climb in the driver's seat and Scott slides in the passenger's side. I turn on the engine and fasten my seatbelt.

"We're going to check up on my dad, isn't your mom working the late shift?" Scott nods.

"Yeah, but whenever stuff like this happens she gets real upset."

"Well that settles it, then, I'm going to see how my dad is doing and you're going to see if you're mom's okay. That is, unless you have something better to do…?" Scott sighs and puts his seatbelt on. I pull out the radio again and reach to flip it on-

"We need to talk." A voice says in the back seat. Scott and I jump at the same time, taking in sharp breaths, my eyes snap up to the rear view mirror to see a pair of green eyes staring back at me. Scott flips around in his seat as I let out a relieved breath.

"What the hell are you doing in my Jeep!?" I say, grabbing my chest as my heart tries to get back in its natural rhythm.

"I've been here for a minute or so, you two were just too wrapped up in each other to notice." Derek says in his usual aggravated tone.

"We're busy, Derek, can't it wait?" Derek's eyebrows push together in confusion.

"Where are you going at four in the morning anyway?" Scott sighs and turns back around. I catch his gaze and he nods his head to the police radio. I reach and flip it on.

"To the hospital," I say as I put my Jeep in drive and pull out of Scott's driveway.

_"Tow truck just arrived; we're loading the car on now." _Kelly's voice comes on the radio along with some scratchy static.

_"Good, the sun will be up in a couple hours, we can get a better look at the entire scene then, Sheriff said he wanted that road blocked off till we're done searching the area so set up a road block on Hickory street on both ends." _ Rob says with a flat tone. I look back to see Derek listening intently to the radio.

"What're they talking about?" Derek says in a confused voice.

"A girl from our school was in an accident tonight, no one knows what happened yet," My dad's voice comes on the radio.

"Shhh! Scott shut up!" I turn the nob up on the radio and pull up to a red light as my dad's voice cuts through the static with news.

_"The Doctor just came out, she's stable, though she's still considered to be in critical condition; they were able to stop the internal bleeding but there was some serious trauma to her head, she slipped into a coma about a half hour ago while she was in surgery."_

Scott and I look at each other with matching looks of worry. _"Friends and family are allowed to visit, but make sure no reporters or journalists get in; they'll pull anything to get a leg up on each other and I don't want this poor girl's family being hounded during all this." _

I look to Scott, "That settles it; we're going to see her." Scott nods in agreement.

We barely know Avery, besides a couple small conversations in chemistry and that time I ran into her on the sidewalk, but it just seems like the right thing to do right now. Scott seems to have realized this too since he hasn't put up any more protests.

"Who is she?" Derek asks in a less demanding voice than usual.

"Her name is Avery Chastings." I say flatly. I don't like the fact that he for some reason is coming along with us, and especially don't like that he's asking all these questions like it actually matters to him.

Scott elaborates on my curt answer, "She's a grade older than us, played on the girl's lacrosse team, I think she was committed to play for Maryland." Scott looks over to me, "I guess that's over now, though."

"You don't know that, Scott, she could snap out of it and get better." Scott gives me a doubtful look, but offers no argument. I look in the rearview mirror to see Derek giving me the same look. I clench my jaw as I turn into the hospital's parking lot.

* * *

**Derek **

We pull into the lot and see a small mob of reporters and cameras, a few policemen stand guard behind some metal gates that are set up in front of the entrance. Scott and Stiles unbuckle their seatbelts and get out. I open my door and step out as Stiles makes his way around the crappy Jeep of his. "Oh, no, no, no, you stay here." He points to the Jeep.

"And do what exactly?" I ask in annoyance.

"Watch the Jeep like a good guard dog." I give a growl as I brush by him. He sighs and follows with Scott. We walk to the police line and Stiles runs ahead. "Dad!" one of the men turns and Stiles jogs over.

Scott and I make it over to hear them in the middle of their conversation, "You'll have to make it short, there's a couple kids in there already to visit, but it'd be best to make it short." Stiles's dad says.

The Sheriff gives me a wary look before asking Stiles why I'm here. I roll my eyes as Stiles tells him I'm here for the STD clinic. The sheriff looks back to me with pursed lips.

_Fuck you, Stiles. _

Scott tries to hold in a laugh next to me and I try to hold back a fist to his face.

The police let us pass and we enter the hospital quickly. Stiles asks the nurse what room Avery is in and she informs him that she's on the second floor in the ICU. We walk to the elevator and step inside, dull music plays in the background as we go up.

Stiles waits impatiently right in front of the elevator door, I come to stand right behind him. "Hey Stiles," his head turns into my palm as I slam his head into the metal door, "you know what that's for, too."

The doors open and Stiles falls out and onto the floor. I walk out into the waiting room as Stiles scrambles to his feet with Scott trailing behind. I stand to the side of the front desk as Stiles asks once again where his friend's room is. I can't help but smirk as a red mark forms on his forehead.

_That's what you get. _

In the far corner of the waiting room I pick up a conversation between a policeman and a young blonde girl, "She never goes to parties, who told you she did?" The blonde asks in a shaky voice.

"It doesn't matter, do you know of any parties that were going on tonight? If you know anything we need to hear it," the policeman says in a firm voice.

The girl lets out a small whimper, "No, I don't know anything about a party." Her heartbeat quickens.

_She's lying._

Stiles and Scott sign in on the visitor's clipboard and I lean on the counter as I listen more closely.

The policeman sighs, "Any problems you know about with her home life? Was there a reason she might've wanted to…..harm herself?"

The blonde looks at the man in disbelief, "You mean like suicide?" the man nods, "No!" the girl yells, causing a couple heads to turn in their direction, the girl notices the attention and then whispers, "Avery would _never_ do that," she pauses to sweep a strand of her short hair from her eyes, "her mom can be really controlling, but she would never-"

Stiles's stubby fingers snap repeatedly right next to my ear, snapping my attention back to him, "-to go in, you stay here." He says at a mockingly slow pace, "Comprendé?"

I roll my eyes as walk to one of the empty chairs to get a better spot to eavesdrop. I focus back on the girl's voice, she's obviously getting more and more upset the longer she's questioned, her heartbeat stammers unsteadily.

"I don't know!" she says loudly, a sob breaks her words, her heart beats faster yet, "Please, I just want to go see her, she's my best friend!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Kline but the sheriff will want to talk to you first," the girl rolls her eyes and sucks in a deep breath before wiping her red cheeks with the sleeve of her Navy sweatshirt, "he should be up any minute, he had to go answer some questions from the press and make sure no reporters got in," the girl just nods, "just wait here, he'll be up soon."

The officer turns and walks away, leaving the girl alone. A group of teenagers sit in a row of chairs to my left, they look up to her when they realize their friend is done being questioned. The blonde just raises a finger as if to say, 'just a second'.

She digs her phone from her black purse and walks to look out the window on the far side of the room, she lifts the phone to her ear and waits. "Jake," her voice breaks, "I don't know where the fuck you are but as soon as you get this get your ass over to the hospital," the girl pauses as her voice grows thick with emotion, she breaths in and then adds, "we need to talk." She draws the phone away and then slips it back into her purse.

She walks back to the group of teens, all of them look to one another for something to say, but silence is all that is between them as the girl melts into the chair, sobs breaking from her chest as a boy holds her.

I stand and walk to the hallway where Scott and Stiles had left through; the two are far down the hall, their heads turning from left to right in search of the right room number. I begin walking fast down the hall, listening in to each room trying to find the one with the girl. The faster they both visit her, the faster we can leave, and the faster I can talk to Scott.

A woman's cold voice catches my attention in a room far down the hall, "I told you," she says sternly, "I told you not to go, but you didn't listen, and now look at you." I watch as Scott and Stiles turn into the room where the woman's voice is.

"Hi," Scott's voice begins, "we came to visit Avery," the woman sighs. I draw close to the room.

"Well, here she is," her voice is filled with nothing but bitterness, "excuse me." The woman's footsteps storm out of the room and out into the hallway. The woman's long, dark red hair creates a curtain as she looks down in her purse and pulls out a phone.

She brings it up to her ear and sweeps the hair from her face. She's maybe in her late thirties or mid-forties, though for having a daughter in the ICU, she looks surprisingly…..put together.

She gives me a passing glance as she begins talking on the phone.

I turn into Avery's room and see Stiles standing at one side of the bed and Scott at the other. Stiles's back hides my view of the girl, so I walk further in.

Scott's head snaps up from looking down at the girl, "Derek?" he asks in a confused voice.

Stiles spins around, "Oh, no, I told you to stay out there!" he says in a hushed tone, as if the girl would wake up if he spoke too loudly, and as I come to the foot of the bed, it's clear she won't be waking any time soon.

A periodic beep comes from a heart monitor, along with the rushes of air from an artificial ventilation system, meaning the machine is breathing for her. I recognize the equipment from when my Uncle was on it years ago after the fire.

"No, you need to go." Stiles says as he tries to get me to move to the door, I just glare back at him.

"Stiles, it's fine." Scott says flatly, Stiles just sighs and takes his place on the other side of the hospital bed. Normally he would've put up more of a fight.

I look back to the girl, only this time I focus on her, and not on the machines keeping her alive.

Long, light brown hair is splayed out over the bland white pillow beneath her, tubes seem to spill from her mouth, a small mask-like piece of plastic holds them all in place, covering her nose, mouth, and most of her chin and hiding them from view, making it impossible to see what she really looks like.

A large bandage covers her right temple, a red stain seeping through the pure white gauze. Red and pink scratches are scattered across her lightly tanned skin. The metallic scent of blood fills my senses, Scott must smell it too since his nose is crinkled by its strength.

The ventilator rhythmically sucks in and pushes air out of her lungs, a steady drip comes from the blood bag that is slowly filling her veins with the thick red liquid. Her slim wrists are strapped to the rails of the bed, to keep her from ripping the tubes out of her throat, were she to wake suddenly. But looking at this all, I doubt that's a possibility. An image of my Uncle's hospital room flashes into my head, it's like déjá vu.

Everything is a mirror image of my Uncle's hospital room, the tubes, the ventilator, the smell of rusty metal. Everything's the same.

Except for her.

The machine beeps steadily, voicing that she's still alive. But her heartbeat is all I need to tell me that. It beats slowly, her body is trying hard to heal, trying to make the most of every pump of blood. I focus my sense on her, trying to get a sense of how much damage her body has taken.

It's an extra sense, useful for gauging the life left in both werewolves and humans alike.

I feel a stab of pain to my temple, matching up with the wound on her forehead. Next I feel a crippling throb to my right leg, almost to the point to my leg caving out from under me. I draw my focus away from that injury and then feel a slow pain at my heart, as if it's giving out slowly.

I look over to see Scott grabbing at his heart, a pained look on his face. Younger werewolves are always more sensitive to the pain, their bodies aren't used to having the sense. "She's not going to make it, is she?" he turns to me.

I focus back on the girl, though this time I try to get a feeling from her, I try…..connecting to her in a way, to see if there's anything left in her.

When I tried with my Uncle, there was never anything there, towards the end, I stopped trying, but then he turned out to be alive and well…

"She's trying to fight it," I say after a moment, her body is weak, but she's still in there. I can sense it.

Stiles turns around, concern clear on his face, "She's **trying**? Well, is she gonna make it or not?"

"I don't think so." Footsteps draw into the doorway and we all three turn to see Melissa McCall walk in, three syringes in her hands.

"Scott? Stiles?" she says, sadness clearly in her voice as she walks to the side of the bed. Stiles moves and gives her room to work. "Was she a friend of yours?" she asks them after they don't respond.

"She was in our chemistry class," Scott says quietly.

Melissa lifts the I.V. and injects each of the three drugs into the girl's veins. "This poor girl," Melissa says, shaking her head, "we just sent her blood work off to the lab, hopefully we'll figure out what happened to her soon."

Four more figures appear in the doorway, the teenagers from the waiting room make their way in. The blonde girl that was answering questions covers her mouth and inhales deeply when she sees Avery.

Scott, Stiles and I all take that as a cue to leave. Melissa finishes her work and meets them out in the hall. I decide to take my leave while the three of them are talking about how they got here and whether Stiles's dad knows he's here or not.

I make my way back to the elevator and lean against the back wall, closing my eyes as I listen to the music that hums in the background, as I listen, flashes of Avery cross my mind.

_"Stars shining bright above you,_

_ Night breezes seem to whisper, 'I love you',_

_ Birds singing in the sycamore tree, _

_ Dream a little dream of me." _

I wonder how long it'll be till her heart just gives out, her body took too much damage; her heart just can't keep up.

The doors open and I step out into the lobby. I make my way to the side of the hospital and from there into the woods. On the police radio, they said they were blocking off Hickory street; an old back road that cuts through the woods.

If I hurry, I can make it before the sun rises completely so the cops won't be able to see me. I let the wolf take over, let him lead me through the woods and to Hickory street.

Why Scott calls this a curse, I'll never know. I've always loved the feeling of running through the woods, giving in to something so primal, letting my senses guide me. I've always loved the wolf within me.

Before I know it, I'm at the side of the road, the flashing red and blue lights of police cruisers light up the woods around the old road, making it difficult to stay out of sight.

I use the trees for cover as I draw closer to a badly damaged tree, the bark of it ripped off on one side, nearly falling over. The smell of blood fills my senses, the same blood I smelled on Avery. But there's something else, something I've been finding too much lately.

I follow the scent back a few feet, right before the crash would've been. Five deep claw marks are etched into the trunk of the tree, a familiar scent lingers at its base.

"Fuck," I cuss under my breath. I take off back through the woods towards my house as I go over things in my head.

I'd wanted to talk to Scott for a reason tonight, there's a new werewolf running around Beacon Hills, it's not a scent I recognize but it's been popping up all over my woods lately, as far as I can tell, it's another alpha.

Which means Avery might've seen it on the edge of the road, and swerved to try to miss it, making her crash… or the werewolf might've more….directly caused the crash.

Either way, she'll be dead soon enough, so that's a pointless lead.

The sun begins to rise slowly over the forest, telling me I've been up for a straight 24 hours.

I make it to my front porch and swing my door open and shut it behind me. I make my way up the stairs and to the back of the house where my room is.

I've been slowly rebuilding the house, so far I only have my room, the kitchen, and the upstairs bathroom fixed up, but that's all I need for now.

I walk into my room and grab some clothes from my dresser before making my way into my bathroom. I take a quick shower, though my head still races with thoughts of the accident, this possible alpha running around, I shut the water off and step out of the shower, grabbing a towel and quickly drying off.

I throw on a plain charcoal T-shirt and black sweatpants and make my way back to my room. I'd been out all night trying to find this alpha, but never caught a whiff of it, so I'd gone to tell Scott to keep a look out, though now my eyes ache with need of sleep.

I close the curtains over the windows, casting the room in darkness. I lay back in my bed and quickly find sleep.

* * *

_A snarl wakes me up, and I sit up to find myself in a hospital bed, I look around for the source of the sound. A curtain to my left separates my bed from the one just across from me. A shadow sits up painfully slow and slides off the bed, coming ever closer to the thin curtain. _

_A wicked snarl rips from the figure as it comes to stand right behind the curtain, ready to attack. _

_I tear the curtain back, only to find a girl staring back at me. Her light brown hair drapes over her shoulders, framing her tanned face perfectly, a ghost of a smile plays at her full lips, two deep blue eyes seem to look right through me. _

_She wears a tight black dress, revealing a wide pair of hips, slender waist and generous breasts. _

_ "Don't leave me." She says as she hikes her dress up and comes to place one leg on either side of my hips. "Don't leave me." She says again as she leans down to me, my arms encircle her waist, pulling her against me, her breath trickles over my lips. _

_ She leans in and kisses me, slow at first, then speeding up, deepening the kiss her tongue slips into my mouth. She rips my arms from her waist and pins them on either side of my head, I let her lean in to my neck, she trickles light kisses down to my collar bone, "Don't let me die." _

_ She leans back up, her deep blue eyes now blazing gold, and two fangs biting at her bottom lip as she looks down at me, her eyes half lidded. Her fingertips trail down my chest, leaving deep scratches where they travel. "Please, Derek." _

* * *

**_Author's Note: The song in the elevator is "Dream a little dream of me" by Mama Cass Eliot I don't own the song or anything so yeah :) _**

**_I know Avery's mom kinda went from hysterical to completely stoic real fast but it's cuz her mom is a controlling crazy lady. I'm pretty sure she's bipolar but who knows? _**

**_Anyways, tell me what you think! :)_**


	3. Everybody's Got a Different Story

_**Author's Note: Okaaayy so this chapter is super ultra mega long... sorry about that. I had a question that asked if I would make all chapters as long as the last one and honestly, I have no idea haha. I just kinda end them when I want, so don't expect a fixed length! :) **_

_**Now we're gonna start getting deeper into the story I think in the next chapter, but for now everyone's still dealing with the impact of the crash (no pun intended). **_

_**I had trouble staying focused on writing this chapter, so sorry it took so long! I mention the song "No Games" by Breaking Benjamin in this chapter, so when it comes up I would encourage you guys to go listen to it :) **_

_**Also, I got some inspiration from the song "Words" by Skylar Grey, it's the scene towards the very end when Tori is in the hospital room! I would also encourage you guys to listen to that one! :)**_

_**One last thing, sorry if there's any grammar errors, this chapter was really long and I kinda didn't edit it that much :X**_

_**Anyway, enjoy!**_

* * *

**Melissa McCall **

I walk into the break room looking for my keys, when I'd been paged for an ambulance drop off I'd been on my break and I might've left my keys on the table, though that seems like forever ago. I hastily undo my bun, which is beginning to fall out, and quickly make it up into a pony tail.

The room is cluttered with small round tables and chairs, a few vending machines are tucked away in a corner in the back of the pale blue room, adding the only bit of brightness of the space in the form of a picture of a soda can surrounded by ice, as well as the colorful wrappers of candy bars that are lined up in cold metal rings, just waiting to be bought by an exhausted nurse or doctor. Though I doubt anyone really has much of an appetite tonight.

Shirley and Dr. Hughes sit at one table talking, at the table next to them, my keys sit shining under the harsh fluorescent lights. Shirley and I had been on hand to help Dr. Hughes in the O.R., though Shirley was the one who had gotten more hands-on, or _hands-in_, during the surgery. I just handed Dr. Hughes what she asked for as she worked.

I cross the room, ignoring the ruffling of my scrubs as I walk, and grab my keys as Shirley looks up and offers me a small smile meant as a 'hello'. Her twenty-something year old face looks strangely old, small wrinkles cover her face. She only started here a few months ago, she hasn't had much experience with this kind of thing, and, living in Beacon Hills, I can't say I have either.

Dr. Hughes turns and continues speaking, to the both of us now, "I've seen this very same thing many times." She says in continuation of their conversation before I'd come in. Dr. Hughes is in her mid-fifties, she's a slim, petite woman, but she speaks with a firm authority that seems to fill a room with order. She'd transferred here a few years ago from some big hospital in Seattle looking for less 'commotion'.

Shirley's eyes seem to droop, "And?" she asks with interest.

Dr. Hughes seems pleased at the chance to demonstrate her years of experience, "Usually the heart just gives out," she says with the tiniest shrug that seems to say, 'a fact's a fact', "or they just never wake up."

I rub my forehead and begin backing away, "Hey, I'm gonna get going," I say as the two women look to me, "see you tomorrow?" Shirley nods.

"Graveyard shift as always." She says with a smile. I turn and walk to the door, "Have a good day!" Shirley's voice calls as I step out of the break room and into the waiting room.

Nervous faces all look up at me as Shirley's words seem to echo through the room. I nonchalantly check my watch for an excuse not to look at the hollow eyes that eventually turn back to their nervous searching. 6:25 A.M.

_I don't think it's gonna be a good day for anyone._

Scott pushes himself from one of the seats and comes to stand in front of me, the slightest of smiles on his lips as he asks, "Ready to go, mom?" I sigh and nod.

Stiles left when his dad did about an hour ago, and Scott just decided to wait for my shift to end. We walk out of the waiting room slowly, neither one of us speaking as we crossed the room filled to the brim with anxiety and cold reality.

Once we make it to the elevator, Scott sighs heavily. I look over at him, his curly hair is in a mess and his brown eyes seem heavier than usual. "Were you two friends?" I ask, resting my head back against the wall of the elevator.

Scott doesn't say anything, he just shakes his head. I take a deep breath and look back to the stainless steel doors as we are lowered to the main level. I want nothing more than to go home and take a long hot shower to wash this shift away.

The doors open and we step out into the lobby of the hospital. I quickly go and scan my I.D. and clock myself out. We make our way out of the automatic doors and to the front of the hospital, a few different stations have their news vans parked out front, one or two reporters are speaking into a microphone and looking into a camera.

I can only imagine how long these reporters will be hounding the poor girl, if she makes it that is.

The reporters see my scrubs and a few of them begin calling out questions to me, though even if I did know the answers I wouldn't tell these parasites just looking for a new story. Luckily I parked right out front the entrance today, safely behind the police perimeter of the entrance.

Scott slides in the passenger seat and I take my place behind the wheel.

We drive along in silence, with my mind wandering back to the surgery and how we had to use the defibrillators once to start her heart back up again. Dr. Hughes said that was when she slipped into the coma. I look over from the road to see Scott staring out the window looking at the passing houses.

The sun is rising steadily, pouring bright sunlight into the car, and revealing more than I'd like. In the rearview mirror I can see the reflections of my eyes, which are heavy and unhappily baggy too. I shake the thought away, and focus on the road. Three stoplights and a painfully long silence later, I put the car in park outside our house.

I unlock the door and Scott and I walk in, I head to the kitchen, and Scott begins climbing the stairs, taking two steps at a time to reach the top. I turn back, "Hey, Scott,"

He turns back to me, his face still heavy. When he makes no move to come back down, I add, "C'mere for a second." He says nothing, just strides back down the steps and comes to stand in front of me, his hair falling just over the tops of his eyes, as if to hide them from view.

I unconsciously bring my hands up and sweep the hair from his eyes as I speak, "Promise me you'll always be careful, hmm?" I hold his face in my hands for a second, just staring at him. He gives me the quickest of smiles before nodding his head.

"Yeah, of course, mom." I force a smile on my face as I feel tears threatening to break my fragile stability.

I lean in and give him a quick kiss on the forehead and a small slap on the cheek. I don't trust my voice, if I speak, I know my voice will crack or break. I just turn away and head for the kitchen. I hear his footsteps stomp back up the stairs and I lean against the kitchen counter.

Tears finally spill over.

_If it was Scott in that bed…. I don't know what I'd do. Scott's all I have….. he's my baby. _

_And now some poor mother is gonna lose __**her**__ baby._

I try to hold back a ragged breath, but it just pours out and before I know it, a full sob breaks from my chest. I squeeze my eyes closed and wipe the tears away. I clear my throat and walk to the fridge and pull it open, sending waves of cold air over my hot face, helping to calm me. I grab a water bottle and take a long, refreshing drink.

I shut the fridge, put the lid back on the bottle, and wipe my cheeks with my hand. Tears are just behind my eyes, but I force them back. Scott has seen me cry too much already.

During the divorce, I was a wreck, Scott was only a kid, and he saw me cry and sob and whine, he saw me when I was pathetically vulnerable. I swore to myself I'd never let him see me like that again. I couldn't let him see me like that again.

I splash some cool water from the sink over my face and steady my breathing before I make my way upstairs and into the shower. I pass by Scott's room and see his door is closed.

I smile, remembering his little pudgy cheeks and big brown eyes looking up at me and whispering, "Don't cry mom, you have **me**."

_Never again. _

* * *

**Scott **

I sit on the edge of my bed, my elbows resting on my knees and my head resting in my hands. I listen closely as my mom walks into the kitchen, I can hear her footsteps suddenly come to a stop as her heartbeat picks up, suddenly a sob breaks the silence.

I fall back on the bed, just listening to the sniffs and deep breaths my mom takes in an effort to calm herself. This is what always happens when something like this happens.

She puts on a tough face, never showing anything more than what I always see from her. But once we're home, once she's alone, she breaks down. I know she tries to hide it from me, and I let her think I don't notice, but I do.

I close my eyes as I hear the faucet turn on downstairs, and listen as her light footsteps make their way upstairs.

Truth is, my mom is one of the toughest people I know. And her glare of disapproval can practically burn your eyebrows off too.

I wish I could help her sometimes, help make her feel like she's not alone. But I know this is how she wants it, so I let it be.

The sound of the shower running acts as a lullaby as I slip off to sleep.

* * *

**Cheryl Reese **

"You're sure, Ms. Reese?" The young officer asks with his eyebrows raised high.

"Yes," I say, my voice showing my annoyance at his hesitation, "I remember it now; she wanted to go to a party at Jackson Whittemore's." The officer nods and takes a few steps back as he begins speaking into his police radio.

I take a few steps back and turn back to the room, pulling the wooden door open with only a little trouble. I step inside to see Lewis at the side of Avery's bed. He looks up with a questioning look on his face, "And?"

I come to stand at the head of the bed, I look to Avery and reach out to run my hands through her long hair, pulling it to the side of her face and tucking it behind her ear. "I think they're going there now."

I look back to Lewis, his dark brown eyes looking me over and then resting on Avery. Lewis and I have only been dating for about three months now, and Avery hasn't taken to him very well, but he's a sweet man and certainly one I'd like to keep in my life.

I catch my reflection in a small mirror of the table beside Avery's bed. My hair is frizzed and my eyes are small and tired looking. "Lewis, why don't we go get cleaned up and come back later?" I ask, rubbing my forehead.

Lewis remains seated, "Shouldn't we wait for Joe to get here?" he asks in a concerned tone.

The very mention of my ex-husband is enough to boil my blood, "He's going to call me when he lands; his plane was delayed. We'll pick him up and come back here later, I just ….." I take a deep breath, "I just need a little rest." Lewis nods as he stands and collects my purse and coat from the foot of the bed.

I lean down and kiss Avery on the forehead as a rush of air is pushed into her lungs. "I love you, Avery, we'll be back soon." I turn away and Lewis hands me my purse, I sling it over my shoulder as we walk out of the room. The officer steps forward to meet us.

"We're sending a car there now, ma'am." I give him a small smile and a quick nod.

"Thank you." I say as Lewis and I make our way back down the grey, colorless hallway.

* * *

**Jake Reily**

"I don't know where the fuck you are but as soon as you get this get your ass over to the hospital," Tori's voice shakes on the voicemail, my heart drops to my stomach as I read the banner scrolling across the bottom of the news: _Beacon Hills high school student,_ _Avery Chastings, left in coma after apparent car accident_. "We need to talk."

My phone drops from my palm and lands on the couch cushion next to me. I scramble for the remote and turn the volume up louder than it needs to be.

"-officials are still investigating the scene of the accident and questioning those close to Chastings, trying to figure out just what happened-" the reporter says as he straightens a stack of papers on the large desk, he keeps speaking, but I can't hear him anymore, a picture of Avery in her lacrosse uniform comes up to the top left of the screen and I just stare at it as dread spreads through me.

I snap back to my phone and snatch it from the couch, I frantically push buttons and bring the phone back to my ear. As it rings I pace around the room and look out my window to the bright green grass of my front yard. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mo-"

"What?" Jackson asks with a tired slur in his voice.

"Hey! Uh- Jackson, I-uh was thinking about the party last night and I remember how trashed your house was by the end of it, so I thought I'd swing by and help you clean up! Can I come over now?"

"Reily," he says in an annoyed voice, "it's 10:40, I'm hung over, and you're annoying the shit outta me right now,"

* * *

**Jackson **

I sit up in bed and pinch the bridge of my nose as I squeeze my eyes closed a couple times before opening them up wide. "-how trashed your house was by the end of it, so I thought I'd swing by and help you clean up!" I swing my legs over the side of my bed and stretch my back before making my way to my window and looking out.

"Can I come over now?" A white van sits in my driveway as one of the maids packs up the last of her stuff and shuts the back of the van.

"Reily," I say, letting my anger show in my voice, I look to the clock real quick, "it's 10:40, I'm hung over, and you're annoying the shit outta me right now." I watch as the van backs out and pulls away, "Besides, the maid just left, the place is all clean."

"Oh! That's great! Wait so, there's uh, no beer cans or anything laying around?" I roll my eyes.

"That's what a maid is **for** you idiot-" I stop dead as I watch a cop car pulls into my driveway where the white van had just been.

"Jackson? What is it?" The doors open up and two uniformed cops get out and begin walking to my door.

_At least my parents aren't home…. I can handle this. I hope. _

"I gotta call you back, a couple cops just pulled up." I say and I almost hit 'end' when Jake stops me.

"Wait! Jackson!" I stop and bring the phone back to my ear, Jake takes a deep breath and continues, "I did something last night, and I- I need your help bad, man." His voice is deep and serious.

"What the hell did you do, Jake?" I never call him by his first name, but then again, he never asks for help. From anyone.

Ever.

* * *

**Tori Kline **

I slip the pink polka-dotted key into the shiny golden lock and turn it, giving the door a small push to get it past the jam it's had for as long as I can remember.

I take a step inside and just take a deep breath as I close the door behind me. The familiar deep red walls of the living room stand to my right through a high arch doorway. To my left is the stairs up to the second floor, I sigh and try to hold myself together as I walk to the bottom of the stairs and practically drag myself up them.

I hold on to the railing for dear life, my legs tremble unsteadily with each step as I force myself to keep it together and make it up to Avery's room. I push the door open slowly and fold my arms over my stomach as if the simple gesture will keep me from losing it.

Her clothes are scattered on the floor, just as always. Sports bras, lacrosse pinnies, jeans, dresses, you name it, it's on Avery's floor. She never seems to notice it really, though sometimes I wonder how she finds anything in this room.

I take a deep breath and walk to her bed, snatching the white fuzzy blanket off her bed and folding it quickly. I told my friends I'd drive myself home and try to get some sleep. Danny practically forced me into his car, insisting that I let him drive me to my house, saying I shouldn't be driving right now.

I had to swear to him I'd go straight home before he let me go. I feel bad for lying to him, but even if I try, I know I won't be able to sleep. I'd rather be at the hospital, and Avery could use some things from home. Hospital blankets are so thin, and the hospital itself is like a giant freezer.

_And those pillows… so thin and flat. _

I grab one of her lavender pillows from the top of her bed and toss it on top of the blanket. I take a quick look around the room and spot a silver picture frame with four different pictures of us in it. One is from spring break this year, when Avery and I rented a beach house for the week and got sun burns that made us look like lobsters.

The picture is before the sunburn, though. The two of us stand with one hand around each other's waist one hand on our hips as the waves roll in behind us, winding warm water around our ankles.

Another picture shows the two of us when we were maybe nine years old, in our Halloween costumes. We'd decided to be Disney princesses together that year. I'd decided to go as Aurora, since my long blonde hair looked just like hers. My pink dress draped around my feet and almost tripped me several times that night on our hunt for candy. Avery had gone as Belle, her brown hair was much darker when she was younger, and she really did look like the kid version of Belle. Her bright yellow dress was also too long, but she carried it better than I did.

The third photo is from prom this year, we stand with our dates behind us; Avery stands with her back up against Jake's chest, her deep blue dress highlighting her eyes perfectly. The green of my dress is matched by the green of Charlie's bow tie. Charlie and I didn't know each other well, we just went together mainly because there was no one left to go with. Jake and Charlie stand behind us, their hands wrapped around our hips with mine and Avery's hands holding them there.

The fourth picture is from last year after one of Avery's lacrosse games; her hair was up in a messy top bun that was practically falling out. She'd just played all game on midfield and she was exhausted, but when she looked up and saw me in the stands her face lit up and she just seemed so happy that I was there.

And I know why.

I push the thought from my mind and place the picture frame on top of the pillow. I take another look around the room and a lump forms in my throat as my eyes fill with tears.

_I might a__**ctually**__ lose my best friend._

I squeeze my eyes closed and shake my head as I wipe the tears from under my eyes. I can't think about that right now, or I'll never make it back to the hospital in one piece. I take a deep breath and walk over to the blanket, pillow, and picture neatly piled at the foot of her bed.

I scoop the pile into my arms and hold it close to my chest, as if they could fill the feeling of hollowness in me. I make my way back down stairs and out the front door, trying to get out as fast as possible to avoid breaking down completely. As soon as I make it outside, the fresh air clears my head, which is beginning to ache.

I begin walking back down the driveway to my car when another car pulls in and takes the spot next to mine. I can recognize Lewis's car from a mile away, it's a flashy ass Lexus SUV that just reeks of asshole. It's not that having a Lexus makes you an asshole, it's just Lewis, just the way he keeps it all shiny and perfect and...and..

He's just an asshole, okay?

I hold the bundle tight against my chest, feeling the picture's corners cut into me. Lewis steps out of the car and gives me a curt nod as he walks to the passenger side and pulls the door open, revealing Avery's mom, who keeps an icy glare in my direction as the two walk towards me on the walkway to the front porch.

"Ah, Tori," she says with a quick smile that isn't reflected in her tone, she looks at the pillow and blanket in my hands, "why are you here?"

I've always hated Avery's mom, she's always strutting around like she's the messiah, always with perfect hair and makeup and clothes and a snotty little smile on her face. Her eyes are only slightly puffy, and her cover up and mascara seems to have held up remarkably well from when I saw her at the hospital last.

Of course I wouldn't put it past her to do a quick touch up in the hospital bathroom, the vain bitch. Avery never complains about her, but that's because she's too good of a person to say how much of a self-centered hag she is.

I look down to the bundle in my arms, "I thought Avery would want some stuff from home," I look back up and into her eyes, anger rising steadily in me, "why are you here?" I look to Lewis, who is expertly avoiding eye contact with the both of us. His long-ish brown hair is pushed back, as if someone had run a hand messily through it, he's wearing his normal suit and tie assemble that just screams 'DICK FACE'.

Ms. Reese's upper lip twitches, she's obviously pissed at my question, but really, what the fuck is she doing here with her boyfriend when her daughter is in a fucking coma and could die?

Self. Centered. Bitch.

"I needed some rest," is all she offers for an answer as she pushes by me, I take a step back to steady myself. Lewis just sighs and gives a curt nod as he follows her like the spineless fucker he is.

_God, I hate them._

I walk back to my car and set the stuff down in the passenger's seat before I slide in the driver's seat. I take a deep breath before backing out of the driveway and heading back to the hospital.

* * *

**Jackson **

I turn and set my phone down on the top of my dresser as I practically rip one of the drawers from its track. I grab a random shirt from the drawer and throw it on over my head,. "Shit, shit, shit," I mumble under my breath as I push the curtains out of my way and look back to the police car in my driveway, two cops step out and begin walking towards my front door, one of them stares down the street at a car parked near my house.

I follow his gaze to the car, "Fuck, Reily…." His car is parked just a little ways down the street, and tire imprints cover the grass at the edge of my lawn by the side of the road. I know they're here to ask about the party, so telling them there was no party is pretty much out.

I need a story, and I need a story fast.

I step back from the window and run my hands through my hair as my mind races with lies.

_I have to get rid of that damn car…_

The doorbell rings through the house.

My breath still smells like beer, and I wish I had time to brush my teeth. I look around my room and find a pack of gum on my desk in the corner. I walk over and grab a piece and shove it into my mouth as the bell rings again.

I make my way down the stairs, my eyes searching the place for any signs of last night's party.

The place is spotless, not one beer can or bikini top covers the floor as they had last night. I take a deep breath to calm myself as I walk to the front door and pull it open. "Hi there," I say quickly, "what can I do for you, officers?" I ask, looking at their badges.

They look at each other with matching faces of suspicion. "You're Jackson, aren't you, son?" The one closest to me asks. I just nod in response, my mouth closes and I wait for him to continue, "I'm Officer Davis, this is Officer West. There was an accident last night, heard anything about it?"

I force a confused look on my face and shake my head, "No, what accident?"

"Mind if we come in for a minute?" The Officer West asks. I nod my head and step back, allowing the two of them to step inside. I close the door behind them, noticing hos their eyes roam over the place in search of….I don't know, evidence, maybe. Something to tell them Avery had been here last night.

I move past them towards the living room and the two follow close behind me, "Son, are your parents home?" I turn into the living room and motion for them to sit on the sofa. I notice the room doesn't smell like alcohol or weird body spray as it did last night, but it smells like ferbreeze…or something like it, anyway.

_Gotta remember to give the maids a bigger tip next time…_

"No, it's just me, they're off on a cruise around the Caribbean," I say as I take a seat in my dad's LaZboy chair across that sits diagonally from the couch where the officers sit, a coffee table barely separates us.

"I'm just gonna get right down to it, son," officer Davis begins, "Avery Chastings was involved in a car crash last night, she's in critical condition." Panic spreads through me as their eyes bare into me.

"Yeah-" I slap myself inwardly, they glance at each other for a split second, "that's terrible, is she gonna be alright?" their faces turn to stone in disbelief.

_Fuck._

_ Game's up before it even started. _

"They can't be sure." Is all Officer Davis says.

"They, uh," Officer West begins as he looks down at the coffee table, "they found alcohol in her system, almost double the legal limit."

"Don't bullshit us, son," Officer Davis says, an edge to his voice, "we know you had a party here last night, we saw the tire marks in the grass out front and we can go ask your neighbors right now, so your best bet is to tell the truth here, understand?" I give him a small nod.

"Good," he continues, "now from what we've heard Avery wasn't much of a party girl, what was she doing here? And don't even think about telling me she wasn't, her car was found on a road that leads back to this neighborhood and I'm willing to bet she came from your party. Now you cooperate with us and we **might** let the underage drinking slide for now."

I clear my throat, trying to find any lie I can.

But nothing comes.

"Yeah," I say in a sigh, "she was here, she normally doesn't go to parties, I think last night was the first time I saw her at one." Officer Davis's body relaxes a bit at that.

"Did she show up with anyone?" Officer West asks.

Flashes of last night cross my mind, Avery and Jake drinking and making out by the pool, suddenly my stomach feels uneasy at the thought of what Jake confessed on the phone. "No," I say, my attention snapping back to the two staring officers, "she showed up alone."

"Did she leave with anyone?"

"_I did something last night," _

I shake my head, "I was busy with the party,"

_ "I- I need your help bad, man."_

"I don't know if she left with anyone, I never saw her leave."

"Well, **someone **must've seen her leave!" Officer Davis says angrily.

"I don't know! Maybe! How am I supposed to know who saw her leave?"

"I'll tell ya' what," Officer West says, laying a hand on Officer Davis's shoulder, trying to calm him down, "you make us a list of everyone who came to this party, and we'll see what we can do for you, there's a fine for underage drinking, ya' know, the person whose property the drinking was taking place on would have to pay a fine for each minor that was under the influence."

"And I'm betting you don't want that going on your record," Officer Davis says as he and his partner stand, I stand with them and reach towards their outstretched hands, "or on your tab." He adds as he shakes my hand firmly.

They walk back to the front door, with me following close behind.

"Listen," Officer West says as he turns back around to face me, Officer Davis stands a few steps away, his hand locked around the doorknob, "write up that list for us, and if you think of anything that might be helpful, it'd be smart of you to call." He pulls a card out from his pocket and hands it to me. Officer Davis pulls the door open and steps out.

Officer West follows after him and I walk to stand at my door, watching as Officer Davis yanks the cruiser door open and gets in. Officer West stands on my porch and looks back down the street towards Jake's car. He turns and looks back to me, "Ya' know whose car that is parked over there?" He points to the car and I glance at it before turning back to him.

"Neighbor's car," his eyes flash with disbelief, "I'm always telling them to move it, but they keep parking there." He just nods and begins walking back to the cruiser before looking up at the sky and calling back to me.

"When're your parents getting home?" he asks.

"Not for another two weeks," I call back; he just nods his head and looks at the clouds that cover the sky.

"Well, be careful, there's supposed to be a big storm rolling in soon." I nod, "Get us that list, then call me." He climbs in the cruiser and I turn back into my house, push the door shut and lean up against it, trying to take in what just happened.

I listen closely to the two Officer's voices as the car slowly begins pulling out of my driveway, "He's hiding something." Officer Davis's voice says.

"Definitely." Officer West agrees. I hear the car take off down the road.

My head begins throbbing, whether it's from the hang over or the impending police charges I can't tell. I walk into the kitchen and pull out the Advil bottle from the top cupboard; I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and quickly swallow two tablets.

I make my way back upstairs to my room, as I walk in, my phone begins ringing.

_Incoming Call: Reily _

I hit 'answer' and bring the phone up to my ear, "What?" I ask, not bothering to hide my irritation.

"So?" Jake asks, "How did it go? Did they buy it? What did you say?" his questions run together.

"I told 'em she was here, and I didn't see who she left with, that's it."

"That's not it, it can't be." He says in disbelief, I sigh and rub my forehead.

"I'll tell you the rest later, for now, you can come get your fucking car off of my street."

"Come pick me up and I'll drive it back here." He says in a hesitant voice.

"Oh no, you come get it yourself, you owe me your ass for this shit."

_What the fuck am I? A slave? _

"Well how the hell am I supposed to get to your house?!" He asks desperately.

"Ride a bike, walk, that's not really my problem. Just come get your car before the cops run the plates and we both go to jail, hmm?" I hit the 'end' button and toss my phone onto my bed. I walk into my bathroom and turn on the shower to get the hot water running as Jake's voice runs through my mind, begging me not to tell the cops about what happened last night.

* * *

**Derek **

I sit up in my bed, my pulse still racing, sweat lightly coats my chest, I hear the sound of fabric tearing, I look down to see my hands clutching the sheets; my claws tore through them in seconds. I let go of the shredded sheets and slide my legs off the side of my bed. I put my face in my hands as I remember the dreams I'd had last night, dreams I haven't had since I was a teenager.

Each time, the same girl, the same light brown hair, the same deep blue eyes, the same sweet voice.

I look down at my lap and let out a frustrated growl.

_This is pathetic. _

I stand up and make my way back to the bathroom; I take off my sweatpants and turn on the shower, not bothering to wait for the water to heat up. Cold water is what I need right now anyway, especially with her voice still running through my head.

_"Please, Derek." _

I lean against the tiles of the shower wall as cold water runs down my back. I don't even know for sure who the girl in my dream was.

_"Don't let me die." _

But I have a pretty good guess.

I didn't get much sleep, the damned dreams woke me up three times from the time I fell asleep. Three separate dreams, the same girl.

The first had been at the hospital, I woke up from that when her voice spoke my name in a half moan, half beg.

The second was in the forest….

* * *

_A full moon shines pale light down through the trees, casting black shadows on the forest floor. Everything is black and white, like in the old movies, except….except her. _

_ She stands just a few feet away from me, though I'm not sure when she got there; her long brown hair and tanned skin seem to glow against the shadows of the woods. She's wearing a light blue dress that accentuates her breasts and hips, "Derek," she says in another breathy whisper that sends a shiver up my spine. _

_ She closes the distance between us; I can feel her nails as they rake over my shoulders, even through the thick leather of my jacket. Before I know it, I'm pinning her up against a tree, her nails digging into my back as I lift her easily. She lets out a gasp as her back hits the trunk, I take advantage and crush my lips against hers; she moans as my tongue slips into her mouth. _

_ She wraps her legs around my hips and runs her nails down my back as I get lost in the taste of her chapstick. Whether it's cherry or strawberry, I can't tell. I nearly let out a growl as she bites at my lower lip. _

_ Suddenly a howl snaps me out of the haze; both of our heads turn towards the sound. The sound of rustling in the distance catches my attention; I focus on the noise as it grows closer and closer… _

_ "Derek," her hand comes up to cup my jaw, and I turn back to her, "it's so dark, Derek." Her forehead now has a huge gash in it, blood streaming down the side of her face. Her legs slip from my waist and her eyes roll back in her head as her body goes limp. _

_ "Fuck," I say, turning from the girl back to the rustling noise. _

_ I lower her to the ground as a snarl comes from the bushes off to my left. I look at the blood stains as they spread across the pale blue fabric; blood drains from her leg, I do my best to keep pressure on it in an effort to stop the bleeding. I listen closely as her heart stops beating. _

_ A full out growl sounds from the bushes as two red eyes stare back at me; a heartbeat stops me from changing. _

_ I look back to the girl, and find a pair of gold eyes staring coldly at me, her canines shine in the moonlight as she grins wickedly at me. She leans forward and whispers in my ear, "Thank you." A stick breaks on the ground to my left and I turn to look-_

_ Claws rake across my neck, and I fall onto my back, staring up at the moon as blood drains from me. _

* * *

I wash the last of the shampoo out of my hair as I try to push the ending of that dream out of my mind.

_These dreams need to stop. _

I have to figure out what these dreams are about, and what they mean. I have to know if it's really her in my dreams.

_ "Her name is Avery Chastings."_

Stiles's voice echoes in my head as I grab the towel off the hook and quickly dry off. The girl in my dream didn't look more than…eighteen? Nineteen, maybe? Same color hair, same tanned skin…

But I have to be sure. Especially since I keep seeing her with those familiar gold eyes.

_She might've been bitten….the claw marks I found on that tree had the other alpha's scent all over it, they were fresh. So, what? Crash the car, bite the girl….and then what? _

I pull the bathroom door open and step out into the cold air of the hallway. I make my way back to my room and throw on some clothes; the normal jeans, black t-shirt and leather jacket. I pick up my phone from its charger and check the time.

4:58 P.M.

I put my phone back into my pocket and grab my keys from my nightstand before leaving my room and walking back down the stairs and out the front door. The porch creaks under my weight as I step off the stairs towards my Camaro.

_Gotta remember to fix the porch later…_

I unlock the doors with the remote and get in. I start the car and the engine comes to life, the CD player picks up from where it last stopped, "No Games" by Breaking Benjamin comes on as I pull out of my spot and back out onto one of the back roads that lead into town.

The third dream was the shortest, but it was definitely the worst one.

* * *

_I open my eyes to see the ceiling of my bedroom, and at the foot of my bed, a slim shadow stands just watching me. I sit up on my elbows and notice two brilliant blue eyes. _

_ The figure moves closer and closer until she comes into the pale light coming in from the window. Ruffled brown hair is draped over her shoulders; her full lips hang open slightly, as if she's focusing on something intently. Her eyes lock onto mine as she leans down and slowly begins crawling towards me. Her white nightgown does little to cover her; the neckline hangs low as she makes her way towards me, showing the full of her breasts. _

_ She stops when we come face to face, and before she has a chance to lean down, I flip her over so she's on her back and I'm on top. She closes her eyes as a small smile pulls at her lips, I dip my head and begin sucking at the nook of her neck, small moans escaping from her throat as I suck harder. _

_ "Take me," she whispers, "just take me already." _

* * *

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts of the rest of the dream.

_This needs to stop. _

I pull into the hospital parking lot to find only a couple of news vans are left.

_I guess they figured out she's not waking up any time soon. _

I turn into a parking spot towards the back of the hospital, there's no way the cops guarding the entrance would let a former suspected murder in the damn place. Last time they just let me in because I was with Stiles and Scott.

Rain drops begin falling, lightly coating my windshield as I turn the keys and turn the engine off. I get out and make my way to the back of the building as rain begins steadily falling.

Around the back, a dumpster sits up against the side of the building, and a window on the second floor is open, the same floor Avery's room was on.

I jump up on the dumpster, careful not to slip on the now wet surface. I pull myself up and look into the room to find an old man lying in the bed; his eyes are closed, his heart beating weakly. I look for anyone else in the room, but find no one in sight.

I pull myself up and in through the window. I turn and close it as wind and rain begin sweeping over the window pane.

I make my way out of the man's room and into the hallway. I listen for the sounds of the ventilator, and eventually pick up on a familiar voice, "Hey, Ave," the voice says in a sniffle, "I brought you some things from home."

I follow the voice and come to stand outside the room; I peek around the doorframe to see the blonde girl from earlier sitting by Avery's side, holding her hand in both of hers. Suddenly, the girl turns toward the window as the rain pours down outside.

She gets up and opens the window, the sound of the rain echoes into the silent room. "I know how you love the sound of rain," she says as she takes her bedside seat again. The girl is wearing the same Navy sweatshirt and leggings as earlier, she looks like a wreck.

I realize she's not leaving anytime soon so I walk into the next room and see it's empty. I walk in and close the door, keeping the lights off and listen as the girl talks. She clears her throat, I can almost see her fidgeting with her fingers as she continues, "The, uh," he voice breaks, "the doctors said that they don't know if you can hear us," She takes a ragged breath, "I'd like to think that you can, though, so I can tell you that you **need** to get better." The ventilator rhythmically sucks in and pushes air out as she continues.

"You **need** to get better," she pauses, trying to calm herself. I walk over to the empty hospital bed and lay down, my hands folded under my head as I listen, "I got us plane tickets to New York in two weeks, for your birthday," she says, her voice is thick and heavy with sadness, her heart beats rapidly, "you were always singing songs from that musical, RENT, so I, uh, I got us tickets on Broadway and you **have** to get better," she says as a sob breaks from her chest, "we're supposed to go together, so you have to get better." Suddenly, the girl breaks down, muffled sobs pour through the thin wall.

I try to focus on the sound of the rain instead, but it's hard to ignore something that sounds just so…..so broken.

* * *

The sound of light snoring sounds through the wall, and the girl's heart is calm. I sit up and make my way to the door; I pull it open and peek around the door again to see the blonde girl asleep, her head resting in the middle of her folded arms on the edge of the bed.

I walk in and stop dead as soon as I see Avery.

Her tanned skin seems to have lost all color, black and red bruises cover her skin; they must've come in from when I saw her last.

I focus in on her again, the same blaring pain surges through my leg, the same throbbing in my forehead, small pains cover my skin, a pain shoots through my abdomen.

_She's not healing. The alpha never bit her. _

I try to focus in on her, trying to find the same fight that was there before.

But there's nothing.

I come to stand by her side, as if that would help me find something in her, any sign of life. The smallest inkling of life clings on, but not much. Not nearly as much as before; she's fading fast.

My mind flashes back to my uncle, he was alive in body for years, but there was no real life in him. **He** was all but dead inside. And when he finally came back, he was insane.

My canines suddenly stab at the inside of my lips, completely on their own. I shake my head.

_Am I really willing to change her? I don't know anything about her. _

I look over to the girl, who's still asleep. A small black picture frame on the nightstand catches my eye and I pick it up.

The blonde girl and the girl from my dreams stand together in four separate pictures.

"So, it was you." I mumble under my breath as I turn from the photos back to the girl in the hospital bed.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Soooo...? What'd ya think? Please leave a review in that empty little box down there for me! It's greatly appreciated! **_

_**Sorry for all the view switches :/ I wanna get a lot of character's viewpoints in to show different character's reactions and plot points! I'll try to keep it to a minimum though!**_

_**I didn't really like the Kanima story line, so I'm thinking of just making Jackson a werewolf!**_

_**Anyway, next chapter will pick up right where this one left off, so if you haven't followed already, why not start today? ^_^ Stuff's gonna get real deep soon! **_


	4. Eyes Closed, Eyes Open

**_Author's Note: Wow I wrote this in one day and it's like midnight right now and my head hurts so bad but holy hell I think this chapter turned out amazing... :O _**

**_There's some bolded/Italicized sections throughout this chapter examp. below, those are parts of the song "What Sarah Said" by Death Cab For Cutie. It doesn't exactly fit where it's placed, but I basically got my motivation from that song so I wanted to include it. I don't own the song/ lyrics or anything. _**

* * *

**_And it came to me then that every plan,_**

**_Is a tiny prayer to father time, _**

**_As I stared at my shoes in the ICU,_**

**_That reeked of piss and 409,_**

**_And I rationed my breaths as I said to myself,_**

**_That _**I've**_ already taken too much today,_**

**_As each descending peak on the LCD,_**

**_Took you a little farther away from me,_**

**_Away from me,_**

* * *

**Derek **

Four different pictures of Avery and the blonde are held within the large black frame. The first shows them side by side on a beach, both in bikinis with matching smiles on their faces.

But other than the smile, they couldn't be more different.

The blonde is a head shorter with barely anything on her.

Avery stands well above the blonde on a pair of long, well-muscled legs. Her stomach shows faint outlines of abs; her arms give similar faint lines of muscle.

_"She's a grade older than us, played on the girl's lacrosse team; I think she was committed to play for Maryland."_

_ She's an athlete and she obviously is in perfect shape….assuming she wakes up she'd be amazing. _

But if she ends up like my uncle…. alive, yet dead at the same time….

But if she survives the bite and if she _does _wake up, angry and twisted…. Then I'll have to kill her.

_I'll bring her back only to kill her again._

I set the picture frame back down and turn back to see the blonde girl still sleeping heavily and I doubt she'll wake up any time soon. I look over to the window to see rain steadily pouring down outside. I walk over to the open window and pull my phone out of my pocket.

Scott and Stiles didn't know her very well, but I can't just change her because of a couple…..interesting dreams. I need to know more.

I dial the number quickly and wait for an answer. After one ring, Isaac comes on the phone.

"What's up?" he asks quickly.

"How well did you know Avery Chastings?" I ask as I watch the rain pour down on the few news vans that still remain in the lot.

"Ugh, she's a bitch!" Erica's voice interjects.

"Isaac, is this on speaker?" I sigh.

* * *

**Isaac**

I motion for Erica to shut up, "Just because the damn phone is on speakerphone doesn't give you permission to actually **speak**." I say angrily.

Erica sits on one of the abandoned subway train's seats; I'm lying down, with my phone on my chest. I was trying to catch come sleep before Derek's call, but one thing I've learned is not to ignore Derek when he calls. It doesn't end well. Especially for my ass, because he tends to kick it when he's angry.

"Enough." Derek says grumpily.

Boyd is leaning against the subway's door with his arms folded across his chest; he just lets out a short laugh. "Uhh, yeah I know her, she helped me sometimes in Algebra last year," I remember pretending to listen to her to sneak looks at her boobs, "she's hot….I mean yeah, uh, she's….smart."

Erica lets out a small growl and rolls her eyes, "Oh, please…" she runs a hand through her dirty blonde hair and flips it to the side. "She's nothing but a jock," Erica says as she begins staring at her nails, "saw the news this morning, a shame really-Wait," Erica looks suddenly back to me before walking over and snatching the phone off my chest, she turns away before I can grab it back. "Why do you want to know?"

Derek lets out a sigh on the other end, "That's not important right now," Erica pushes her tongue against her cheek, her grip on my phone suddenly tightening, "look, do you have anything useful to say or was this call just a waste of time?"

Erica opens her mouth to speak again but Boyd steps up, grabs the phone from her hands and steps outside the train car, "What do you wanna know?" he asks evenly.

"He's not considering-" Erica begins.

"I don't know, now shut up; I'm trying to listen." She sits back against the train seat with a huff; she folds her arms across her chest as Derek speaks.

"I've heard she plays lacrosse," Derek says flatly, "she any good?"

Boyd lets out a dry laugh, "I've seen her play a couple 'a games; she's fast," Boyd pauses, "really fast. She seemed like the best player on the team, but I haven't seen many lacrosse games…."

"Anything else you know about her?" Derek's voice is curt; to the point. Which means he has something in mind….

"He is!" Erica says with a shocked voice. I give her my best 'shut the hell up' face.

"Afraid you won't be the only she-wolf in town anymore?" she rolls her eyes and turns her head to the side with a clenched jaw.

"Well, I know her parents are divorced and she lives with her mom; I saw her at some of Avery's games, she is…..well, she has a very rough personality, I could tell that just from lookin' at her." Boyd's footsteps echo through the subway as he paces. "I've talked to Avery only a couple of times; she used to come by the ice rink with her friends," I lift my head up to look out the train car's dirty window, Boyd has the smallest of smiles on his face as he paces with my phone held out in front of him, "she would always take the time and talk to me. She's nice, but that's all I know."

"Good enough for me." Derek says after a few moments. I look over to see Erica's eyes turn to gold. This time I roll my eyes.

"So you're gonna-" Boyd stops and waits for Derek's answer.

After another couple of moments, "I'm considering it…"

"They said on the news she was in critical, you think she'll survive it?" Boyd's voice is flat, but his heartbeat skips just a bit…..concern maybe?

"I guess we'll find out." I can practically feel Erica's claws dig into her jacket as she clutches her arms. "I'll be there soon, no going out tonight; I still haven't found alph." the nickname we use for the oh-so-shy alpha that has been running through the woods lately.

"Training tonight?"

_Dumb question, Boyd; there's always training. _

No answer comes, just the sound of Boyd's footsteps as he steps back into the car. "He hung up on you, didn't he?" I ask, Boyd just tosses my phone to me and I catch it easily.

I look over to see Erica staring at the ground, her eyes are glazed over, and her mouth in a pout. "Awww, don't worry, Erica," her eyes flash up to me in anger, "you'll always be our favorite bitch!" I give her a smart-ass smile.

She lets out a roar as she jumps from her seat towards me with both her claws and fangs outstretched.

_Well, shit. _

* * *

**Sheriff Stilinski **

I slide my pen across the document sloppily; I hardly got much sleep last night and now the press is all over my ass about this case and it's starting to ware on me. I toss my pen down on my desk and reach up to push my glasses from my eyes as I rub them.

A sudden smack nearly makes me jump, but I recognize the sound, "Whaddya got for me, Kelly?" I ask as I yawn and lean back to stretch in my chair.

Kelly just gives me a smirk as she rolls her eyes, "Read it and see." Her short black hair gently sways forward as she motions toward a manila folder.

I sigh and put my head in my hands, "Oh, God, not more reading, c'mon, Kelly I'm begging ya'."

She gives me a smile and flips the folder open before turning it so she can read it, " 'Upon further examination of the totaled 2004 black Toyota Camry, blah… blah…. blah…. Unimportant.." she says as she drags her nail across the lines of the page, I can't help but let out a little chuckle, "ah! Here we are… 'fingerprints not belonging to Chastings were found as well as DNA - in the form of blood- inside the vehicle.'" Kelly shuts the folder and leans on my desk with both hands, a smile on her mouth as if she's got a secret.

"And that's not even the best part." She says as she quirks a dark eyebrow.

"And that would be?"

"There was a blood spot on the handle; you know the one you use to get inside the car? And the forensic examiner says it could be consistent with someone hitting their head, which I'm willing to bet money that that's where Avery's 'trauma to the head' came from."

"Where would I be without you, Kelly?" I ask with a chuckle.

She sticks her finger out "But I'm not done yet, the fingerprints were found on the steering wheel mostly, but also on the seatbelt buckle on the passenger side. The injury diagrams show there were no wounds on Avery's arms-"

"She was unconscious when the crash happened." Kelly gives a nod.

"We already knew she was well above the legal limit for alcohol, but this means whoever was in that car with her tried to make it look like she was alone that night."

I open the folder back up and flip through the pictures of the car's interior. "Well, they did a shitty ass job, didn't they? Hey has Jackson given us that list yet?"

Kelly purses her lips and looks up, "I don't **think** so, I'll get Davis back on his ass." She says with a wave as she turns and begins walking away.

"Hey, Kelly," she turns with her lips open, as if asking 'what', "nice work." I say as I look back to the folder, sensing the smile on her face as she turns again and walk away.

* * *

**Derek**

**_ Amongst the vending machines and year-old magazines,_**

**_In a place where we only say goodbye,_**

**_It stung like a violent wind that our memories depend,_**

**_On a faulty camera in our minds,_**

**_And I knew that you were a truth I would rather lose,_**

**_Than to have never lain beside at all,_**

**_And I looked around at all the eyes on the ground,_**

**_As the TV entertained itself,_**

* * *

I slip my phone back into my pocket and walk back to the side of the bed. I pull back some of the long brown hair from across Avery's shoulder and shift the tubes and hospital gown to show the base of her neck.

Stitches cover a long red line across her neck to her shoulder. I sigh and pull the gown back up. I do the same to the other side, but find more stitches.

The only unmarked places are her arms. I undo the Velcro holding her wrists to the bed rail and push up the sleeve of her gown. Small bruises cover her arm, but other than that there are no wounds I could open up….besides the bite.

I lift her arm and sink my fangs into her skin. Blood drips into my mouth, I can taste the cocktail of antibiotics and painkillers….as well as the mix of a couple different bloods… though which is hers I can't tell.

I lower her arm back to the bed and reach the roll of gauze on the small metal tray. If the nurses find a bite mark on her and match my DNA to when the cops took me in for murder…. It won't work out too well.

I quickly wrap the gauze around her arm and tear the piece off with my claws.

Suddenly, a man's voice down the hall catches my attention, "So you just decided to go home and take a nap, I guess?" The man says angrily as multiple footsteps practically jog down the hallway.

"Don't you dare chastise me, Joseph! You have no idea what I've been through today!" The woman's voice is familiar, I recognize it as the woman who passed me in the hall….Avery's mother, I take it.

I move to the other side of the room and pull the dividing curtain to hide behind.

"What **you've** been through!? Our daughter is in a coma! And I'm supposed to feel bad for-" the man's voice cuts off abruptly as his footsteps enter the room and slowly draw near Avery. "Oh, God," the man says in a whisper.

* * *

**_Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room,_**

**_Just nervous pacers bracing for bad news,_**

**_And then the nurse comes round and everyone lift their heads,_**

**_But I'm thinking of what Sarah said,_**

**_That, "Love is watching someone die."_**

* * *

The blonde girl lifts her head and clears her throat, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize- excuse me." Her footsteps make their way quickly out of the room, but I still hear her heartbeat outside the room. Seems I'm not the only one interested in what's going on here.

I look through the netting at the top of the curtain to see a tall man with tan skin and short brown hair by Avery's side, his hands clutching one of hers tightly. Tears slowly begin forming in his eyes as he looks down at her. "Damn, her hair got long." He says, his voice getting heavy with grief.

_Her father maybe? _

The woman stands at the foot of the bed with her arms crossed over her chest, her deep red hair damp, yet her make up seemingly without a flaw. A man with longer brown hair stands beside her with his hand on her hip.

Avery's mother keeps her head high, "She ran off, Joe," she says in a defensive tone as he looks at the tubes and machines keeping Avery alive, "I couldn't have done anything to-"

"Quit the 'It's-everyone-else's-fault' bullshit, Cheryl! I've been hearing it for years and I'm sick of it!" Joe says as he turns back to the two. Both of them jump back slightly, "If you weren't such a controlling BITCH, Avery wouldn't be here right now!" His hand motions toward the bed.

The other man puffs out his chest as he speaks, "Don't you dare talk to her like that!" Cheryl seems to shrivel up against the man's chest for protection, "You have no right!"

"She's my ex-wife." Joe says with a humorless laugh, "I have **every** right." His face goes cold as he turns back to Avery. "Get out," he says flatly.

Cheryl's eyes gloss over, her body seems to be drained of all pride she'd held when they walked in, "I have every right to be here; she's my daughter too-"

"Then why don't you start acting like it?" Joe says flatly.

* * *

**_So who's gonna watch you die?_**

* * *

The other man suddenly takes a step towards the curtain, and I realize he's been staring at my shadow for almost a minute now. I quickly move to the window and climb through the frame before jumping to the street below.

I take a hard landing on my feet, but it hardly matters. I run through the rain back to my Camaro and pull out of the hospital lot.

Whether she lives or dies….it's out of my hands now.

_She has to fight. _

* * *

**_So who's gonna watch you die? _**

* * *

**Later That Night…. **

**Shirley **

I make a quick knock on the frame of the door, " 'Scuse me, it's time to change out her IV," the middle-aged man with short brown hair turns and gives a quick, saddened smile.

"Of course," he says as he pushes himself up from his chair and backs up so I can reach Avery's arm. I hate dealing with things like this, like when an old person is dyeing, and their family is there, and they all have those same polite smiles that hold them together even though they know….

Oh God, I just hate things like this.

I quickly slip the needle from her arm and replace it with a new one.

_The good news is this girl has really good veins, meaning it's easy to give her the medicine and get out of this awkward silence as soon as- _

A wrap of gauze catches my eye on her other arm.

The man must notice my confusion, "What? What's wrong?"

I look to him to find a worried face staring at me, searching for an answer. I flash him a quick smile, hoping to calm him, "Nothing, nothing," I turn back to the gauze and lift her sleeve to see it's wrapped tightly around her arm, "I just don't remember…." I walk to the foot of the bed and look at the diagram of where her wounds are.

"See, I have to change the gauze every night and I don't remember changing that one."

_Let's see…. Laceration to right thigh; got that one. Laceration to abdomen; got that too. Small laceration and swelling on forehead; yep. Minor cuts across shoulders, only needs disinfecting. _

I look to the right arm of the diagram, but no one ever marked a wound there. "Hmm.." I say as I walk to the side of the bed and quickly unwrap the gauze.

"Well, that's odd," I say as I peel of the bloody gauze.

"What?" he asks frantically.

"There's nothing here…..huh, well, one less to change I guess, right?" I look back to him with a smile, but find a cold, humorless stare looking back at me.

I really hate things like this.

* * *

**One Month Later…**

**Stiles **

"C'mon, man, you can't leave me hanging on this **again**." I say into my phone as I pull out of my driveway and begin down my street, "I'm coming to pick you up and you're going with me."

"Stiles," Scott sighs on the other end, "look, **we don't even know her! You** don't even know her! How many times have you been there anyway!?" The sun hangs low in the sky, washing orange light over Beacon Hills as the sun sets.

"Only seven…." I mumble.

"Stiles….?" Scott prods.

"Alright, nine, but the one doesn't count because I just came to say hi to your mom."

"And why would you stop by the hospital just to say hi to my mom? You see her like every day."

"She's a charming woman, am I not allowed to just stop in and say 'hi' to your mom? She thinks of me like a son and I'm offended that you'd try to cast your own brother out of the family like this. Now I'm coming to pick you up and we're going!"

* * *

**Scott **

Allison's lips trail kisses down my stomach, leaving lip gloss smudged on my skin, she looks up and gives me a wink as her tongue slips out between her lips; I barely manage to hold in a moan. "C'mon, man, you can't leave me hanging on this **again**."

Suddenly, Allison pulls away from my stomach and leans in to give me a quick kiss on my lips before leaning in to my ear, "I'll be in the shower." she breaths in my ear before turning away and pulling her shirt over her head. She turns and coyly hides her body behind the door frame as she gives me a wink and turns away.

"I'm coming to pick you up and you're going with me."

_Naked Allison….? Stiles._

_ Naked Allison. _

_ "_Stiles, look, **we don't even know her**! **You** don't even know her! How many times have you been there anyway!?"

Stiles lets out a small mumble before answering, "Only seven…"

Stiles does that mumbling thing when he's lying. "Stiles….?"

"Alright, nine, but the one doesn't count because I just came to say hi to your mom." I stop listening as Allison steps into the frosted glass shower. Steam rises from the water, fogging the frosted glass and making it impossible to see anything but a tan blur.

"-Now I'm coming to pick you up and we're going!" Is all I hear as I realize I'm still clutching a phone to my ear.

"What? Uh-no, Stiles I gotta go." I say as I hit end and push myself off Allison's bed. I scramble to get my jeans off as fast as I can.

I pull the door open and step under the hot water, Allison doesn't bother turning around, but I notice a smile spread across her face as I lean in and kiss her neck. "Mmm…what was that about?"

My hands wind around her hips as I pull her against me, "Just Stiles." I say as I kiss my way up her neck.

"And what did Stiles want?" She asks with a hum in her voice. She always likes to keep me waiting.

I turn her around and lift her against the shower wall, her eyes flash with surprise, but they turn to excitement as she sees my face. She always says it's 'cute how impatient' I am. "Does it really matter?" I ask as I dip my head and kiss my way down to her breasts.

"I-I guess not." She stammers as I take her nipple into my mouth and gently suck on it.

"Good," I say, bringing my face back up to hers, "now, back to earlier…." She gives me a wide grin before she pulls herself from my grip and pushes me against the wall in her place. She gives me a deep kiss before she steadily dips her head lower and lower down my stomach, leaving more lip-gloss coated kisses as she goes.

* * *

**Stiles **

"No Scott wait-" I pull the phone away from my ear and look at the screen.

_Call ended_

_Scott 4:20 mins _

"Great," I say with a sigh, "thanks, Scott." I toss my phone into the passenger seat as I drive by Scott's street. "Probably with Allison...Whatever happened to 'Bros before ho-'….lovely young women?" I double check that no one is in the backseat to hear that.

Especially no Scott.

I look up to the sky as the full moon comes into view as the sun disappears from the sky completely.

* * *

**Derek **

"I need some coffee." Joe mumbles to himself. I listen from the room next door as his footsteps leave the room and make their way down the hall.

I walk out of the empty room and step into Avery's.

She's been healing slowly, and she's almost back to normal, though I can feel the pain in her leg is still there.

I can sense her body is healed, but when I've tried to focus in on _her_….there's nothing…It's like there's a black cloud covering her… I can't get anything.

I heard the doctors when they talked to Cheryl and Joe about her odds. They said the longer she remains in the coma, the less chances there are for her to pull through.

But it's a full moon tonight. And if she's ever going to wake up, it's gonna be tonight.

It's been a month. A whole fucking month of these damned dreams. I can't get rid of those damned blue eyes in my head. Every time I close my eyes I see her staring back at me.

And then I come here.

Where her eyes are never open.

Never staring.

I can't tell which is more frustrating.

I come to stand by the side of the bed and try to focus on the wolf inside her. I try to pull her out. My vision goes red as I try pulling her through.

"Wake up." I say firmly, nothing happens. "Wake. Up." I say, adding a small growl.

Her pupils shift slightly under her eyelids. "Wake up, Avery." Nothing.

I take a deep breath and let out a full out roar. Her eyes snap open.

But they aren't the deep blue eyes I yearned to see. Fiery gold eyes dart around the room.

Suddenly, she closes her eyes again and begins gaging on the tube in her throat. Her coughs are muffled by the plastic, making her cough more. Her hands desperately try to rip themselves from their restraints.

_With her strength, she should be able to break free…._

She opens her eyes again; deep blue orbs stare up at me through a blur of tears that stream down her face.

A flash of guilt strikes through me before the sound of fast footsteps dash down the hall.

* * *

**Avery **

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to clear my eyes, trying to see, anything. I can't see anything….

_I can't breathe, oh God, I can't breathe. Help me!_

I scream up at the dark figure next to me.

_Help me! _

I open my eyes to find no one. There's no one.

Coughs wrack through me, I can't breathe.

_Where am I?! _

"Avery!" a woman's voice says. I open my eyes to see the blur of a dark haired woman beside me, her cool hands find either side of my face, I stop struggling and just look up at her. "I need you to calm down, I'll get it out; do you understand? Don't move. I need you to stay very still."

I just nod, and do my best to stop the gaging. "Okay, honey," I squeeze my eyes shut; I don't wanna watch this… "relax your throat." I shake my head as another gag comes, "c'mon, baby I need you to relax."

I try to do as she says, "alright, now open wide." I open my mouth and keep my eyes closed as the tube is pulled from my throat.

As the last part is pulled out I sit up and I lose it.

Suddenly my hands are free and the woman clutches me to her as sobs pour from my sore throat. The woman just holds me tight and strokes my hair and before long, a voice comes from the doorway, "Avery?!" a man's voice asks in disbelief.

I squeeze the tears out of my eyes as the woman lets me go and I'm swept up in another hug. After a few moments the man steps back, but keeps his hands firmly on my arms. "I thought-" the man starts.

"Baby, you remember me don't you?" the voice sounds so damn familiar… The man looks at me with worried eyes. Stubble covers his chin and cheeks, though I could swear…

"Dad?" he breaks into a smile as tears fill his eyes.

"That's right, baby, that's right." He gives me another tight hug as dread fills me.

"Wait, if you're here- where's mom? Is she alright?" suddenly, his grip loosens and he leans back again to look at me. His eyes look over to the woman, who I can now see is a nurse.

"Avery," the nurse says as she steps forward, "my name is Melissa, listen, do you remember how you ended up here?"

I look down at my hands to find a paper wristband.

**Avery T. Chastings **

** Beacon Hills Hospital, ICU **

** Patient # 552390 **

My head suddenly feels heavy, and before I know it, I'm looking up at the ceiling of the room as Melissa shines a light in my eyes. "Where's my mom?" I ask, realizing they never told me.

"She's fine, Avery, now listen-"

"No, no, where is she? I want to see her-" suddenly my dad grabs my hand and holds it tightly.

"Avery, listen to me, she's **fine**." He says in a calming whisper as his thumb rubs my knuckles.

"Then where is she?" I say in a half sob as tears fill my eyes again. "Where am I?" I ask, fully knowing from my arm band where I am. "How the hell did I get here!?" More sobs escape my lips, my head hurts and my throat is sore and I just want everything to stop.

Suddenly, I notice Melissa doing something with the IV bag, and before I know it, everything goes fuzzy. "Avery, I've given you something to calm you down, can you hear me?"

I just nod as I feel my head stop aching suddenly. "Good, that's good," she says with a smile. Now listen, this isn't going to be easy to hear, but you have to promise me you'll stay calm, okay?"

She sounds distant, like I'm underwater, but I just give her a nod, her voice is nice, and I just want to hear her voice. "Alright, well, about a month ago, you were in an accident, do you remember the accident?"

I try to think back, back to before I woke up here, but everything beyond Melissa and my dad is fuzzy, I can't think straight. I shake my head slowly against the pillow. "You were in a car accident, they brought you here, and you've been here ever since."

"How come I don't remember?" my words sound slurred, and my eyelids seem to be getting heavier every minute.

"It's okay, baby, you just get some sleep." My dad's voice says, his hand holds mine tightly as everything goes dark.

_No, no._

I try to say.

_Not the dark again, it's always dark. _

I try to tell them.

_Please no._

* * *

**Derek **

"No, no." Avery's voice says weakly, "Not the dark again, it's always dark." Her voice fades more and more, "Please no." I look down at my shoes and try not to think about the sound of her crying.

I tried to wake Avery up. But instead I woke the wolf.

_And then….the tube down her throat…. _

_She must've been so scared…. _

Guilt rushes through me again. "She doesn't remember anything about the crash?" Joe's voice asks.

"Not necessarily, sometimes these things take time." Melissa says evenly, "The best thing to do right now is let her rest. I gave her a sedative; she should be out for at least five or six hours. You should go home and get cleaned up. If you want I can give you a call when she comes around again."

"I have a house nearby; I'll just be a couple hours-"

"Mr. Chastings, pardon me but you look like an old hobo. You've been here round the clock for a couple weeks now, go home. Get a nice, long shower in your own home. And maybe a shave too. She'll be fine. I'll stay here with her and make sure she doesn't slip back under."

The man sighs but gives a hum of agreement. A few minutes later, his heavy footsteps leave the room. "Be right back, honey," Melissa says, "I'm just gonna grab my dinner." And with that, she makes her way quickly out of the room.

I walk slowly backing to the room, slightly unsure of what to expect. But when I walk in, I find it's just the same as every other time I've visited. Her eyes are closed again. She's asleep again.

I tell myself they'll be plenty of time later, but that doesn't make this any less frustrating.

I look closely at her; since her features no longer hidden under a plastic mask. The tan in her skin seems to have come back within minutes of her waking up; a light blush gives color to her cheeks, though her lips are chapped from months of being forced open because of that damn tube.

I carefully reach my hand out and push the light brown hair from her face, and gently cupping her face in my hand. My thumb lightly brushes across her lips, "I'm sorry, Avery."

"Stiles no!" Melissa says sternly down the hall.

"But you just said-"

"Yes, she **woke** up, no, she's not **awake**." Melissa's voice echoes.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Stiles does that whining voice that always pisses me off.

"She had a bit of a panic attack when she woke up, the tube, well, it- it freaks people out when there's something in their throat and they can't pull it out. It sends people into a panic phase. But I gave her the sedative more for her to rest than anything."

"She's been asleep for a month…I think she'd good."

Melissa scoffs, "Stiles, come back tomorrow. Your dad will wanna talk to her tomorrow anyway." Melissa's footsteps come closer down the hallway. I look back to Avery one more time before heading to the window and once again jumping to the road below.

It'd been two weeks since the last time I caught the scent of the other alpha through Beacon Hills. But the scent is still on the edge of my territory…like the alpha is lurking there...waiting for something.

Maybe now with Avery awake I can actually get somewhere with finding out who it is.

* * *

**Sheriff Stilinski **

A loud ringing sound wakes me up, I lift my head and see only yellow. I reach up and pluck the sheet of paper from my forehead before reaching for the phone on my desk, "Hello?" I ask as I fight a yawn. "Beacon Hills police department, Sheriff Stilinski speaking."

"Hey, Sheriff, it's Melissa McCall, Avery Chastings just woke up a few minutes ago."

"What? That's great!" I say as I stand up and grab my gun from my desk and slip it into my holster, "I'll be right there-"

"No, no, no, that'll have to wait till tomorrow, at **least**." My shoulders fall as the yawn wins out, "She was delirious, and she didn't seem to remember anything about the crash, or how she got here. Maybe things will be different tomorrow, but for now she's under some sedatives and she's resting."

"Mmm….that sounds like a good idea." I say as I look over to the clock.

11:42 P.M.

Melissa chuckles over the phone, "Weakling, been working the graveyard shift for three years now, I'd say I'm practically a creature of the night by now."

"Well, you are a bit of a witch," I say jokingly.

She laughs before adding, "Alright well call before you come talk to her tomorrow, and make sure you don't tell anyone she's awake before you're ready to deal with the reporters, I know they'll be all over your ass about her waking up before you've closed the case."

"Well, I was hoping that by the time she woke up I'd have a suspect and she'd put the nail in the coffin with a positive identification, but if she can't remember…." I sigh.

"Well, like I said, maybe she just needs a bit of rest, goodnight Sheriff."

"Goodnight, Melissa. Go make a brew somewhere won't you?"

"Oh ha-ha, veeerrry funny." She says with a light tone before hanging up. I set the phone back down and turn my desk light off before making my way to my door and turning the light off behind me. I pull my keys out of my pocket and lock my office.

I walk through the maze of desks where only a handful of graveyard shift cops remain, the rest are out on patrol. "You on your way home, Sheriff?" Donnie asks as he snacks on his box of Chinese food.

"Yep, it's time for me to head out." I say as I make my way to the lobby of the station.

"Finally! Thank God!" he calls after me jokingly. I chuckle.

"'Night Sheriff," Donnie the security guard says as he looks up from his newspaper with a smile on his face. Donnie always has a grin on his face and a joke on his tongue, so the nights when he works, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I always leave with a smile.

"'Night Donnie, hey take tomorrow off on me!" I call as I push the door open and step out

"Tomorrow's Saturday, sir, I don't work-Oh" I let out a laugh as I make my way to my cruiser in the parking lot.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Soooo? What did you think? was it good? :D I really would like feedback on this one because so if you haven't reviewed before maybe just drop me your thoughts in that little box down there...? It's really appreciated! ^_^ **_

_**Thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews btw! It makes my day when I get any of the three :) **_

_**Next chapter I'll be able to clarify some of the sketchy details in here, the time leap is kinda hard to work out, but it'll be great in the long run I promise :) **_

_**Please leave me your thoughts, I'd really like to hear them! **_

_**Just a side note- before we get off and rolling, this story was rated M for a good reason. No offense to other writers, but I've seen a lot of cute, cuddly little stories of Derek falling in love (which are nice to read) but I just don't see him like that. :/ There will not be much cute cuddly I don't think... But there WILL be rough sex, angst, angsty sex...? sexy angst..? haha no sorry I'm done like I said it's like 12... **_

_**There's gonna be some angry sex... which I think fits Derek bestest ^_^ **_

_**So... yeah. ;) **_

_**Oh man my wrist is sore...I'm gonna go get a heating pack and go to bed for a year. **_


	5. Wake From Dreams, Run From Nightmares

_**Author's Note: Alright, so nothing spectacular happens in this chapter so don't get too excited! This is more of a set up chapter, if something seems weird or off in this chapter i.e. how characters react to things just trust me, it's gonna be awesome ^_^ **_

_**Anyway, for now Avery still really isn't herself, but we'll see her real personality more in the next couple chapters. So just hang on Derek is coming soon! :D**_

_**Song mentioned is 'Comatose' by Skillet! I don't anything about the song or band. So yeah. it's just a really good song. **_

_**Please excuse any grammar errors, I added in and changed a ton of things in this chapter so mistakes are probably plentiful :/**_

_**~Enjoy ~**_

* * *

**Avery **

I take a bite of the slightly overcooked mac n' cheese and try to distract myself from the throbbing in my leg and my head by watching an old Batman cartoon. Ever since I woke up, my stomach has been killing me, I'm so hungry and I just can't seem to stop eating.

I scrape the last bite from the third bowl of the morning, yet still I feel hungry. I stack the Styrofoam cup inside the other two and push it aside on my bed tray that sits in front of me; I reach for my glass and take a sip of water. My doctor came in and checked on me maybe an hour ago, she said that the appetite was a good thing, but right now it just feels ridiculous.

Then again, I guess that's how it is when you've spent a month in a coma eating liquid food from a straw.

A whole month.

So that would make it…. July? I grab the remote and turn it to the news. A weatherman stands at the far right of the screen, his hand extending across the screen and pointing to the different temperatures under each day, "Today is gonna be a scorcher, with temperatures soaring into the mid-nineties, by tomorrow a cold front will blow in, so expect some heavy thunderstorms all day on Sunday beginning in the morning and spanning out all day…."

I look down to the corner of the screen, and find the small icon that says the date.

July 16th, 2013

My head begins spinning as I realize, "I missed my birthday," I say as my eyes stare blankly at the screen. A pair of fingers come in front of my face and snap, and suddenly I hear a voice.

"Avery, how are you feeling?" I snap my head to the left and see a man standing by my side, a white lab coat covers his light blue scrubs, his face is chiseled and he looks like that doctor on that TV show in Seattle… what was the damn name of the show…..?

My head begins to throb worse than before as the man continues talking, "My name is Dr. Pierce, I'm the head Neurologist here," the man has a small on his face as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small flashlight before bringing his fingers to hold my chin up and shining the light into each of my eyes, "you took a pretty good hit to the head," he said as he pulls away, pointing to the spot where the throbbing is coming from, "though the gash healed, there's bound to be some side effects," Dr. Pierce says as he takes a step back and sits in the chair by my bed, he leans forward, his elbows coming to rest on his knees as he laces his hands together.

"Like what?" I ask, my voice barely more than a whisper.

"Head injuries are tricky; you had minimal swelling of the brain when you first arrived, but since you were…. Well, since you weren't active, your brain had plenty of time for healing. I'd like another CAT scan later this afternoon, just to make sure everything's alright." I give him a small nod, my head is aching and his voice is only making it worse. He sighs and crosses his arms, "The police want to talk to you, but I want to ask some basic questions just to make sure you're feeling yourself, okay?"

"Okay," I say, pulling myself up to a sitting position.

"Alright, what's your full name?"

"Avery Terrance Chastings," I answer quickly, the throb quickening in my head.

"And your age?"

"Seventee-" I pause, realizing that June 8th had already come and gone, "Well, I guess eighteen, now." I say, taking a minute to look down at my hands. I look up to see him giving me a small smile, laced with pity.

I resist the urge to punch him in the stomach.

"And your parents' names?" Anger suddenly fills me, the steady beeps of my heart rate spikes on the monitor. His eyes flash to the screen, then back to me with a questioning look.

"Cheryl Reese and Joseph Chastings." I say flatly as I try to figure out why I'm angry. My head aches worse than ever, and I just wish he'd leave.

"Are you alright, Avery?" he says as he reaches out and places a hand on my shoulder. I force myself to take a deep breath before answering.

"I'm fine, do you, uh," I run my tongue along my lips, trying to concentrate on anything but the pain, "do you know where my mom is?" I squeeze my eyes closed, the lights seem to be getting brighter, and harsher by the second.

"We haven't informed her you've woken up yet, I had to come check on you to make sure you were up for visitors-"

"You mean she's not here already?" I ask, leaning back against the pillows.

"Well, no," he pauses, "I'll go make the call now, you just relax and she'll be here soon, okay?" I don't open my eyes or make a sound; I just nod slowly and wince when I hear the door close.

It sounds as if he's slammed it, and the volume on the TV seems as though it'd been turned all the way up as the news anchor's voice booms through the room.

"-In other news, a man has begun protesting animal rights outside the capital building in a hamster suit-" the man's voice grates against my ears, and I snatch the remote off the tray and turn the TV off.

For a moment, everything is silent and calm, my head stops aching and I feel at ease.

Then, all at once, noises fill my ears; the sound of the nurses' footsteps as they swiftly move through the hallways, the sound of machines beeping and carts rolling and people talking. One voice in particular stands out.

"Hi there, this is Dr. Pierce head Neurologist at Beacon Hills hospital; Avery's awake and ready for questioning. She passed the basic knowledge test but I advise you keep it short and simple, there's plenty of time for the more difficult questions later, Sheriff." His voice sounds as if he's still in the room, as if he's right next to me.

A short mumble sounds on the other end before he speaks again, "Yes, of course, I'll have the nurses postpone the pain medication until you arrive, she'll be less groggy that way." Another short mumble sounds from the other end.

"Sounds good, see you in a bit Sheriff." After a few moments, his voice begins again, "Hello, Ms. Reese? This is Dr. Pierce head Neurologist at Beacon Hills hospital; Avery is awake and ready for visitors if you'd like to come see her," he pauses.

"Oh," he sounds genuinely taken back, "well, you can come by any time before eight thirty tonight, that's when visiting hours are over."

Doctor Pierce says his goodbyes to my mother before calling my dad, saying the same greeting of, "Hello, this is Dr. Pierce; head Neurologist at Beacon Hills hospital…." Only this time, he ends with, "Yes, you can come by now, but the Sheriff is coming by too, you might have to wait till after he's done, but other than that, you can stop by any time you like, visiting hours end at eight thirty though." He pauses as mumbles come from the other end, "No problem sir." Is all he says before the sound of footsteps drifts further down the hall.

So that's it.

I haven't seen my dad in years.

Not since he took that job in Japan on some big construction project.

I've lived with my mom since I was fourteen, and before that my dad had a job nearby and every other week I'd switch living between them.

And yet my dad is coming to see me now, and my mom –the woman I've spent the last four years believing was the only one of the two to _really_ care- isn't coming.

I hear my heart monitor beeps unsteadily, and I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I think about my dad, and force the thought of my mom from my mind. After a few moments, the monitor slows and the noise of the hospital dissipates.

Suddenly, the door opens and a man, obviously the Sheriff, steps through with a polite smile on his face, "Good morning, Avery, I'm Sheriff Stilinski,"

"That was fast," I don't realize I said that out loud until he gives a small chuckle.

"I came right over," he says as he lowers himself in the chair by my bed, "I've been waiting a long time to talk to you," he pauses, "how're you feeling?"

I shrug, the motion pulls on the IV's in my arm. I try to not pay any attention to them. "Fine, I guess," I look down, not wanting to look at the man's polite, yet weathered face, "considering…"

He nods, "I need to know what happened, Avery, what's the last thing you remember?" He says gently.

I take a deep breath and try to think back, but my mind is foggy. I try harder, "Your mother said you went to a party….?" he asks.

A party…

I open my eyes, and narrow them at him in thought, "Jackson's party, right?" he gives me an encouraging smile and nods. I look down at the pale blue sheets, and it reminds me of my dress, "I was wearing a blue dress, like this color," I say as I point to the sheet, flashes of my mom and I blur in my head, our muffled voices argue, "my mom and I- she didn't want me to go."

The throbbing in my head from earlier returns, "I remember sneaking out, starting the car," my memory blurs and fades to black as my car pulls out of the driveway, "but that's all." The Sheriff looks down, probably trying to hide his disappointment.

After a moment, he looks back up to me, "Was there anyone with you? Were you going to meet someone at the party?"

The throb turns into a stabbing pain as I try to push myself back to that night, but my heart monitor spikes again.

God, why does it keep doing that!?

I can practically hear the blood rushing in my body and Dr. Pierce's voice rings out in the room, "Sheriff," he says in a calm voice, "could I talk with you for a minute?"

The Sheriff nods and rises, "No," I say in a small voice, "I can do this," I push my mind back harder, trying my best to focus, "I know I can."

Dr. Pierce looks at me with a calming look, "Avery I don't want you to strain yourself," is voice is cool and rational, "you just woke up from a coma, you should be resting and taking it easy." I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

Sure, it makes sense, but I don't like it.

The Sheriff gives me a small smile, "If you happen to remember anything, without straining yourself of course," he glances up at Dr. Pierce, and I have to hold back a smile, "here's my number." He hands me a small card, "Have a good day Avery." He says as he walks to the door.

"No," I say stubbornly, the Sheriff turns back to me in surprise, as does Dr. Pierce, "I have a few questions myself, and since my doctors won't tell me shit," the beeps spike, "I have a few questions for _you_, Sheriff." The beeps scream at me, I sigh heavily and reach under my hospital gown and tear the monitor from my chest, "I'm sick of this thing," the monitor goes flat line, and I shudder inwardly.

Dr. Pierce rushes over and quickly shuts the machine off, I guess it's an unsettling noise to hear for the other patients in this place, but I couldn't care less right now.

"Avery, you have to-"

"No, it's alright; I think she deserves a few questions answered." The Sheriff says with a small smile on his face. Dr. Pierce nods and slowly makes his way out of the room.

"Alright, what are these questions of yours?" I look down to my hands, trying to brace myself.

"I convinced one of the nurses to talk to me a bit earlier," I begin slowly, "she said when the ambulance brought me in," I take a breath, trying to get the courage up, "I had alcohol in my system, a lot of alcohol, is that true?"

The Sheriff lets out a heavy breath and looks down at his boots. "What happened that night Avery? I understand from your friends that your mom was… difficult… but why sneak out that night? What changed?"

My head feels foggy, clouded, but a voice rings out.

_"You know, Jackson's having a party this Saturday, and I was hoping you'd go with me as my date."_

"Jake," I breathe out.

"What?" Sheriff Stilinski asks quickly.

"I was supposed to go with Jake, I remember that." My eyes glaze over as I try to remember more…

"And, did you see this Jake at the party?" My mind goes blank. I let out a huff of frustration.

"I only remember talking to him about the party, nothing else." The Sheriff comes to stand at my side. I'm sitting up in bed, but I wish I could just disappear right now, until this all blows over.

"Anything else you can tell me about this Jake?" He asks, taking out a pen and small notepad from his jacket.

"His name's Jake Reily, we're in the same grade, he goes to Beacon, he plays on the lacrosse team, but he's not-"

His radio chimes in.

_"Sheriff, news broke of the girl waking up, the leeches are outside the hospital; they want a press conference with you." _

'The girl'? Seriously?

"Right," he says into the radio as he turns away and paces to the window on the far side of the room, "I'll be right out," he sighs when he looks out, "_damn_ they move fast."

_"Well it coulda been a leak from one of the staff at the hospital, who knows?" _

"Don't suppose it really matters now, I'll be right down." He paces back to me and gives me a sad smile. "You have my card, Avery; don't be scared to use it."

I give him a nod and look down as he makes his way out of the room.

I lay my head back and take in a deep breath, trying to calm down. I bring my hand up to brush my hair out of my face, only to find my hair feels greasy and thick. I quickly draw my hand back with a frustrated huff.

The room is silent; all the annoying, headache inducing sounds I'd heard several minutes earlier are gone, only the gentle beeping of my own heart monitor rings through the empty room. I nervously twist the sheets for a moment; silence has always made me nervous.

I give up and pick up the remote, turning the TV back on, my jaw drops.

The Sheriff stand outside the hospital with microphones and recorders pointed in his face, "-woke up late last night, she's currently resting and we ask that she is given her privacy from the media." Across the bottom of the screen the title is what catches my eye:

**Avery Chastings Wakes From Coma; Still In Hospital. **

I think I liked it better a few moments ago when I was 'the girl'. But there it is. My name on the screen, for everyone to see. For all those people to look at, shake their heads and say, 'what an idiot', or 'stupid teenager'. I shudder at the thought.

One reporter speaks up, "Sheriff, is she still in the ICU or will she be moved in non-critical care soon?" The Sheriff looks down at the ground as the reporter finishes before lifting his head and speaking.

"I'm told she'll be transferred possibly sometime today or tomorrow, but I can't be certain." I look over to the window, wondering if I could…

I look at the IV's in my arm and follow the tubes to the portable IV rack. I toss my blankets to the side, and look down at my legs.

A huge bandage covers my right thigh, and I feel the sudden urge to pull the bandage away and see what's underneath, or at least how bad it is. I shake my head in disgust and shudder, realizing its better not to know sometimes.

I slowly swing my legs over the side of the bed, a sharp pain cutting through my thigh as I slowly stand. Meanwhile, a different reporter asks another question, "Have you determined the cause of the crash yet?" The TV seems to echo through the empty room.

My eyes flash over to the screen. Sheriff Stilinski practically rolls his eyes at the question, "As I've been over before," he says in a stern tone, "I can't release information about ongoing investigations-"

"Sheriff it's been an 'ongoing investigation' for weeks now, when can we expect some real answers?" I fully push off the bed and put my full weight on my legs.

I pull the IV stand along with me as I take a few shaky steps. Sure, the pain is sharp in my leg, but I do my best to ignore it as I make my way to the window, all the while listening to the Sheriff as his voice becomes more and more stern by the moment.

My bare feet are stiff against the cold floor, but I look down after feeling something familiar. I smile when I see it's my toe ring and matching anklet; it's nice to have something I remember, at least.

"When the investigation is through." I almost shudder at the irritation in his voice. Glad I'm not that guy. "Next question." He says bluntly.

I come to stand in front of the window and see two or three News vans, along with several cameras trained on the Sheriff. A man in a dark jacket begins walking toward the front of the hospital from across the street.

I can't make out his face from here, but he looks familiar.

"Can we expect a formal statement from A-" The woman's question is cut off as a reporter suddenly breaks from the group and rushes toward the man.

"Mr. Chastings!" the man calls. Suddenly, all the camera men and reporters rush toward my dad as he makes his way up the stairs. Sheriff Stilinski and a couple other cops hold them back as my dad climbs the stairs.

"Dad," I whisper. My legs feel numb, and weird. I almost peel myself from the window when a woman's voice calls out from across the room.

"Ms. Chastings!" the woman breaths in sharply. I turn to see a nurse rushing toward me, a shocked look on her elderly face. She holds out a weathered arm to help me stand. "You aren't supposed to be out of bed, dear, here I'll help you."

I give her a reassuring smile, "No, no thank you, I'm fine!" she doesn't listen, she just grabs my arm. "No," I say, in an attempt to get her to look at my face, "I'm fine, I walked over here on my own and I can walk back, too." She keeps her grasp on my arm, and I give in.

She leads me back to the bed, kind of awkwardly too seeing as how I'm almost a head taller than her. "Let me get a look at your leg, dear." She says in a hurried voice as I sit down.

"My leg is fine." I say stubbornly, wanting nothing more than her to leave all of a sudden. Her gaze snaps back to mine, and I let out a heavy sigh. She begins slowly pulling the medical tape from around the bandage; the tape pulls uncomfortably at my skin at a painfully slow pace, "Just tear it off." I say angrily, wanting this to be over already.

"If you say so," She takes a second before tearing the bandage off completely. I look down at my thigh, and find a big red scar over it, "your wound is still tender, dear." she says as she looks at the scar, prodding it gently with her fingers. No matter how gentle her prodding is, it sends sharp pains through me, "You're very lucky." She determines in a tone that doesn't make me feel lucky at all.

My eyes are focused on the scar.

It stretches down my thigh in an ugly twisted line. The nurse must sense my disgust, because she quickly pulls my hospital gown down to cover it. "Well, it seems as though it doesn't need a bandage anymore, it could do with some air; that should take the swelling down anyway."

When I still don't respond, she continues nervously, "You were losing a lot of blood from your leg when they brought you in, turns out you nicked the artery in your leg in the accident, Dr. Hughes –your surgeon- had to…well… patch you up."

My stomach churns uneasily, and I lay back against the pillows before I throw up. "Anyway," the nurse abruptly says as she walks back to the cart she'd pushed in earlier, "I've just come to give you your medication, dear."

Something churns in my stomach, but it's not nausea, it's….it's something else.

"Are you in pain, Avery?" The nurse says as she takes the empty IV drip from the metal hanger and begins replacing it with a full bag.

"I don't know." I say, trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with me. "I've felt so weird since I've been up," I say with a strained voice as the nausea gets worse, "I couldn't stop eating earlier and then my head was killing me and-"

My attention snaps back to the door when my dad walks in, a concerned look on his face, "Hi baby, how're you feeling?" He comes to stand by my side, and well, just stands there. Awkwardly.

I haven't seen my dad in… well, a really long time. Not since he took some big job in Japan two or three years ago. The most interaction we've had in that time is a phone call now and then. But other than that, we're practically strangers.

"I'm okay; my head's just a little foggy." He just nods and smiles before leaning in and giving me a tight hug.

"Dad," I say as he pulls away, "where's mom? Why isn't she here?" His smile slowly fades and his eyes seem to look past me as he inhales sharply.

Then it hits me: it's Saturday morning.

"Wait, there's no way she's," my dad's cool blue eyes tell me otherwise, "she's still having practice? I just woke up and she's busy with _ballet_?" I say in a bitter tone as I look down to the small swirling design on the light blue sheets.

My dad doesn't say anything, and that's about as much as I can expect from him, there's not much to talk about between the two of us.

"Listen, honey," he says after a few empty moments, "I know I haven't been around lately, but you know that I love you, don't you? And I know how… well, how your mother can be, I just- you know you can talk to me, right?"

"Yeah dad, I know-"

"And I'm not just saying that Avery, I _mean_ it," his voice is sincere, "if you ever need anything, you can call me."

I smile and look down again, "I know, dad." I hesitate before adding, "I've missed you, how long are you staying for, anyway?" I ask in a hopeful voice.

He sighs, "I've been here a month already, I'm sorry Avery but now that you're okay I have to get back to work; I'll be leaving within the week."

Hope. Destroyed.

I don't say anything, I just nod and smile, "So, how's Japan anyway?" I ask in an attempt to make small talk.

"Oh! And you should see the Cherry blossoms there! They're beautiful Avery! You have to come visit sometime, I'll have you flown over and you can stay with me-"

I let out a snort, "Good luck getting mom to agree to that, dad." My dad's smile drops a bit at the mention of mom, but I can't help but to think of her, I've been awake for hours now and she's nowhere to be found.

A nurse peeks in with a smile, "Excuse me, but you have a visitor Avery." I smile, it took her long enough.

The nurse backs out and a moment later, Stiles walk in with a nervous smile on his face and his hands deep in his jeans' pockets. "Stiles?" I try not to sound shocked. I fail. Badly.

"Hey, Avery," he says pulling his hand from his pocket and itching nervously behind his ear.

"Well, I'll go get some coffee." My dad says before giving Stiles and I a nod and walking out of the room.

Stiles stands by the door, obviously unsure of what to say, or do. I can't say I know either. "You can come in if you want, you don't have to stand at the door." I give him a smile, which he mirrors as he steps further into the room.

"So, how-" I put my hand up to stop him.

"If one more person asks me how I'm doing, I think I'm going to scream." He gives an uneasy chuckle and a warm buzz spreads through my arm. I try to ignore it; it doesn't hurt, it actually feels nice…

"So," I begin as I bring my hand up and rub my arm a couple times, "what brings you by the hospital? Not exactly where I'd be spending my Saturday…" A steady throb in my head builds on top of the warm buzz.

"Well, I heard you were up and I thought I'd come by and see you," I close my eyes, trying to push the pain out of my head, but a voice comes through.

_"Hey, Avery," Stiles's voice rings out through blackness, "still not up yet, huh?" I hear a deep breath, "Listen, I know we don't really know each other that well, but I just want you to know I'm here. So, yeah, that's uh, that's all." His voice pauses, "There's a lot of people that care about you, people who want you to get better. Just- just try to get better fast, hmm?" _

"-very?" I open my eyes, Stiles stands next to me and looks at me with wide brown eyes.

"Stiles? Have you… been here before?" I ask in a pained voice as my head throbs.

"Yeah," he says with a confused look on his face, "did your dad tell-"

"No, no," I shake my head, "I remember you talking to me, but-but that's all." His eyes look up and down my face as a smile grows on his lips.

"Avery that's great!" My brow furrows at his words.

"It is?" I ask in a distant voice as voices start ringing through my head.

"Yeah!" he says happily as he leans forward in his chair, "That means you're beginning to remember, right?"

I close my eyes and listen to the voices….voices of my mom, dad, Stiles, Tori, of all my friends…all saying the same thing.

_"Hey Ave," Tori sniffles, "I-I just came to tell you that I'm going to New York," her voice is thick with emotion and her sniffles interrupt her continuously, "God, I wish you were going with me. The doctor told me she didn't think it would be long now…. Nothing will be the same without you Avery, I love you." _

_ The sound of a boy crying suddenly fades in as Tori's voice drifts off, "I'm so sorry this happened to you," I recognize the voice as Liam, a boy I met in my math class last year, we weren't the best of friends but we bonded over our hate for equations and formulas, "You were one of the best people in this town, I just wanted to tell you that." _

"They were all saying goodbye," my eyes gloss over as tears fill them, my gaze snaps back to Stiles who know looks more solemn than before, "why were they all saying goodbye? How close was I to….?"

Stiles swallows and looks down, and clears his throat before he speaks, "They were going to turn off life support on Monday." All of my senses go numb.

I woke up on Friday July 15th.

I would have died on Monday July 18th in a hospital bed at eighteen years old.

* * *

**A Few Days Later…. **

"This is it Avery," the nurse named Melissa says as she smiles and pulls out the IV in my arm, "are you excited to finally go home?" she asks in a cheery tone.

"I can't home soon enough," I say with a grin.

"What's the first thing you'll do?" she says as she wraps the tubes up and sets them on a metal tray on the side. My mom stands with her hands folded in front of her with my clothes slung over her arm.

The day the doctor called her she had finished her class before coming to see me, and I was pissed until she got there. But as soon as I saw her I had a bit of a breakdown, and I don't even know why I started crying really, I guess the fear and shock that I almost died just came to the surface.

But over the next few days in this place voices of people who've visited me have been coming through, and not once have one of those voices been my mom.

"Ummm, I think I'll take a long hot shower." I laugh nervously.

Melissa smiles and gives a polite laugh, "Well, you'll be there soon enough, anyway I'll go ahead and give you some space to get dressed, Ms. Reese, if you'll follow me to fill out some final paperwork…?"

"Of course." my mom smiles and lays my clothes on my bed before moving towards the door.

Melissa makes a move to move to the door too, but I reach out and grab her arm, "Can I talk to you real quick first?" Melissa nods and my mom looks at me nervously from the doorway.

"I'll be there in a minute," Melissa says to my mom, who just stares at me before nodding and stepping out into the hallway, "what's wrong Avery?" Melissa whispers.

I'm sitting up in the hospital bed I've come to hate for no good reason, my baggy hospital gown loosely clings to my shoulders and I nervously pull the fabric further up on my shoulder. "You keep a record of who visits, right?" I ask, staring into her dark eyes in hope she'll just let me have my way.

She stand up straight, her eyes narrowing, "Yes, but we're not really supposed to-"

Seeing where she's going, I quickly speak up before she has time to just say no, "I know, but you've got to understand, I haven't been awake in a month and-" I force tears into my eyes, glad that the old fake crying trick I learned as a kid hasn't left me.

"Okay, okay," she says, trying to calm me down by rubbing my shoulder, "but why do you want them?" I look up at her, my eyes still kind of cloudy with small tears.

"I need to know something." Is all I say in return, her eyes look between mine for a few tense moments before she sighs and turns away towards the door.

"I'll bring a copy of the visitor's list after you're dressed." She walks smoothly to the door before mumbling to herself "I could get in a lot of trouble for this." She walks out and pulls the door shut, leaving me alone in the room.

I push the sheets back from my legs and shakily set my feet on the ground. My right thigh still hurts when I walk, sometimes worse than others, but my doctor came by and gave me a black brace that slips over my thigh and supports it so I can walk with only a little pain.

I reach behind me and untie the small strings keeping my gown on and the light fabric falls to the ground. I turn and grab the sports bra I told my mom to bring from home and slip it over my head and pull my hair from under it.

Next I grab the clean pair of black boyshort underwear and quickly slip them up my legs. The room is cold and a shiver runs up my back as I grab the pair of navy blue baggy athletic shorts and pull them up same as the boyshorts. The loose fabric of the shorts gets caught on the big, blocky brace and I sigh in frustration as I struggle to pull the shorts free.

After I finish putting the shorts on I turn and snag the thin long sleeved pale pink shirt and toss it over my head and pull it on. It's thin and my black sports bra shows clearly through it, but I've never much cared about that sort of thing; it's not like it's a big secret that girls wear bras.

The shirt is nicely fitted, making up for my saggy unflattering pants which I don't even want to think of how they look right now. Next I pull on the mid-calf light pink socks my mom brought and slip on my adidas slip on sandals.

I look like hell. But I guess it really doesn't matter. I'm finally going home.

I lay the hospital gown on the bed and take one final look at the hollow feeling room before turning and walking to the door. I pull it open and see Melissa walking towards me with a paper folded in her hand. My mom is signing the final check out papers at the desk.

Melissa approaches me without a word, hands me the paper with a weary look on her face as if warning me to keep it to myself that she gave me these. I nod and she speaks lightly, "Take care of yourself Avery, nothing personal, but I never want to see you here again."

I give her another nod of agreement before she walks away down the hall.

I watch as her blue scrubs clad form practically marches away and turns into a different room, when she's out of sight, I glance down at the paper folded in my hand. "Avery come on, let's go," my mom calls from down the hall, "it's getting late and I don't want to get caught in the storm."

"Coming," I say as I walk down the hall to her. They say that this summer has been one of the 'stormiest' summers there's ever been, and it doesn't seem like it's going to end any time soon. Not that I mind, I've always liked the rain, and storms are even better.

We step into the elevator and suddenly my mom's phone rings, she scrambles through her overly size purse for a minute before finding it and pulling it up to her ear with an angry sigh. "Hello Joe," she says hastily, after a moment my mom replies with, "yes, we're leaving now, when's your flight taking off?" I close my eyes and lean back against the wall of the elevator as I try to ignore my mom's voice.

"Oh, Avery," I open my eyes to see my mom covering the speaker on the phone, "your father's flight is about to take off for Japan, anything you want to say to him before he takes off?" I turn away so she won't see my face.

"Have a nice flight." My tone is bitter and all around unhappy, but I can't find a reason to care. I don't know why my hopes had skyrocketed when I realized my dad was back from Japan, there was no way he was staying. Maybe I was hoping he'd find a job in America in the very least, so we could see each other without need of a passport.

That would be something I guess.

My mom speaks back into the phone, "She says she hopes you have a nice flight," my mom echoes, "alright, yeah I'll make sure of it." She says in the same hurried tone. The elevator doors open and I quickly step out. I hurry towards the main automatic doors when my mom catches my arm and whirls me around.

"We're going out the side exit," she says as she holds her phone away from her mouth, "we don't want to be seen by the reporters, honey." She says as if it's a regular thing. I let her lead the way as she continues to talk to my dad on the phone. I don't listen to her voice, I rarely listen to them when they're talking to each other, a habit I forged after listening to them fight all the time.

We step outside into a darkened parking lot, cool night air blows uneasily and the trees behind the hospital shake warily. I follow behind my mom as she sets off towards the car; my leg is aching steadily, but I ignore it as I try to keep up with my mom's pace.

The side parking lot is practically empty; my mom's car sits alone in the middle row and a few scattered cars linger closer. My mom's voice echoes into the darkness, "I don't care Joe!" she says loudly, I just look down and will myself not to limp. "You know what; we'll talk about this later." She doesn't hang up as she reaches the car and fumbles to unlock the door.

Suddenly I feel weird, like someone is right behind me or near me or just…watching. I look to my left towards the front of the hospital; maybe one of the reporters has sneaked around….? It's sad that that's what I'm hoping for.

But there's nothing but parking lot lamp posts and the empty white line on the asphalt. I look to my right slowly, expecting to see a quick flash of someone before they duck and turn away or kill me or…..

_Okay calm down you idiot; you're being ridiculous there's no one-_

My eyes lock on to a man leaning up against a black Camaro, hands in his pockets, one boot crossed over the other, eyes directly on me. Two dark eyebrows frame his eyes in an unsettling way, and as I stare back, I feel completely numb.

Everything fades into the background; the wind blowing my hair back, my mom's voice arguing on the phone, the throbbing in my leg; everything. Suddenly a sharp pain stabs me in my arm and I clutch it tightly with my hand, I open my mouth in a silent scream, and as I look away from him I can swear there's a smirk on his face.

I slowly sink to the ground as the pain consumes my formerly numbed nerves. "Fine!" my mom's voice fades back in as she tosses her phone back into her purse, she turns to me then, "Avery!" she calls out, more in confusion than worry. She rushes to me and hoists me up, showing little concern for my hand clutching at the invisible wound in my arm.

"Let's get you home so you can rest." I curse in my mind; that's all I need more _rest._ I slowly make my way to the passenger side, I look back to see the man's head ducking into the car, the smirk still on his face and…..and his eye that I can see…glowing red.

I squeeze my eyes and his head is gone, the door shuts and I lower myself into the seat of my mom's Chevy impala but I don't take my eyes off the tinted windows of the Camaro. I can swear I see two red orbs glance over at me before the engine roars and the tires squeal as the Camaro tears out of the parking lot.

I look to my mom to see if she just saw that, but she's turned around looking at something in the backseat, as if that didn't even happen. She turns back and starts the car, the radio comes on and I try to relax as 'Comatose' by Skillet comes on.

_ I hate feeling like this_

_ I'm so tired of trying to fight this_

_ I'm asleep and all I dream _

_ Is waking to you_

_ Tell me that you will listen_

_ Your touch is what I'm missing_

_ And the more I hide I realize I'm slowly losing you_

_ Comatose_

_ I'll never wake up without an overdose of you _

_ I don't wanna live_

_ I don't wanna breathe_

_ 'les I feel you next to me_

_ you take the pain I feel_

_ waking up to you never felt so real_

_ I don't wanna sleep_

_ I don't wanna dream_

_ 'cause my dreams don't comfort me_

_ The way you make me feel_

_ Waking up to you never felt so real_

_ I hate living without you_

_ Dead wrong to ever doubt you_

_ But my demons lay in waiting_

_ Tempting me away_

_ Oh how I adore you_

_ Oh how I thirst for you_

_ Oh how I need you_

_ I'll never wake up without an overdose of you_

_ Breathing life_

_ Waking up_

_ My eyes open up_

_ Comatose_

_ I'll never wake up without an overdose of you_

* * *

**_Author's Note: Okay so that was just a tease, I know. So yeah next chapter is gonna pretty legit so stay tuned and we'll get there ;) _**

**_Sorry if I skipped around too much but honestly, I kinda feel like it's like 'okay can we just get out of the hospital now?' so I fast forwarded a bit. _**

**_Thanks for all the support! Means a lot! _**


	6. When the Lights Come On

_**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long, school started up again :( anyway Avery kinda loses it this chapter but it's all good (at least I think it is) Please excuse any grammar errors. I just hate editing so much :/**_

_**enjoy.**_

* * *

**Avery**

_"Wake up, Avery." I open my eyes, and find myself laying on a cold gravelly surface, with darkness all around me. I slowly sit up and try to remember where I am. Suddenly a lamp post's yellowed light flickers on at my far left. _

_One by one, parking lot lights flicker on and grow closer and closer to me. I'm in the hospital parking lot, that much is clear. I push myself to my feet and turn around to make my way back into the building, but find no sign of the hospital. _

Everything is so cold…..so dark…..

So familiar.

I turn back to the lamp posts as they continue flickering on down the line. I watch for a minute, just letting the rhythm of the wild flickers of light consume me.

As the light in front of me comes to life, it's different. There's no flicker, just a beam of light that is steady and constant. And under it stands a man.

He's tall, that much is obvious. His hair is dark and spiky, and dark stubble frames his jaw perfectly. But it's his eyes that hit me; the blood red stare that looks back at me with incredible intensity. I have a thought to turn and run, but my feet won't let me move. The sound of a hear monitor fades in and the heartbeat speeds up continuously.

The man is probably the hottest guy I've ever seen, but that stare makes me shudder down in my shoes, which I just now realize, I'm not wearing. I'm in the hospital gown again. Suddenly I feel horrifyingly vulnerable as I look back up to his gaze.

"Wake up!" he shouts at me, revealing two fang like teeth as he lets out an animalistic roar.

I feel the roar wash over me and suddenly the heartbeat in the background stops.

I wake with a loud gasp and my body snaps up fast enough to give me a whiplash. I look around my darkened room to find no sign of the lights, the man, or his eyes for that matter.

And yet I can still feel them on me, watching me. I look over to my clock.

5:19 A.M.

_"Now you might have some strange side effects; weird dreams, blackouts in your memory, sudden bursts of emotion, maybe even some hallucinations. The pain medicine I'm prescribing for you is really strong and it effects people differently, just try to only take some if you absolutely need it. If you're feeling not yourself or you're unsure of how your body is handling the medicine come talk to me immediately." _

Doctor Pierce's voice echoes in my head as I try to make sense of my dream.

I sigh and push my feet over the side of my bed. In a little while I have to go to the high school track and meet up with Luke, my personal trainer. I reach over to the bottle of pain pills on my nightstand and pop one of the tablets in my mouth and swallow. Just a preemptive dose for later with Luke.

Luke's been training me since ninth grade and he's made me into the player I am today. I have to admit, I owe him a lot. But instead of his usual 'be uncomfortable' saying that he usually uses to urge me on, today's just going to be 'let's see how fucked up you are'.

I run a hand through my hair and try to calm my nerves. Of course he didn't say it like that, he said, "Let's take it slow and see how it goes." which is basically the same thing. I look down at the ugly scar on my leg and wonder how the hell I'm ever going to be the same.

I brush my fingertips over the puffy skin of the scar, I can't even feel my fingertips as they brush over the thick scar tissue. I shake my head and reach over to my nightstand where the thick black brace sits just waiting to be shackled around my leg like a cuff.

I pull the black thick fabric around my leg and strap it on tightly. I force myself to stand and ignore the stinging that comes from my thigh as I make my way to my dresser and begin sifting through my running clothes.

In the end I settle for a pair of black running shorts with purple trimming, black mid-calf Nike socks, and a charcoal grey dri-fit T-shirt. I grab a hair band and rake my fingers through my hair, I wrap the band around my hair in a high ponytail that is long enough to brush past my shoulder blades.

Maybe it's time for a hair cut or something…. I shake my head and catch sight of the folded paper on my dresser. It's the visitor's list I'd asked Melissa to get for me; I haven't looked at it yet, and I don't know what I'm waiting for. I don't know what I'm looking for either, but something tells me I shouldn't look at it. Not yet.

I don't even know when it'll be the '_right'_ time.

The sun must be rising outside, since the light is beginning to shine through my window, but I realize that I hadn't even made a thought to turn the light on, which is….. Weird. Normally I can't see a damn thing in my room before the sun has risen.

I step back and look at myself in the mirror; I might look the sporty kinda cute, if it weren't for the damned brace. It's amazing how much regret I can feel for something I don't even remember.

I push that thought away as I walk to my phone on my nightstand and snatch it from the charger. I pull the cord out of it and turn it on as I slowly open my door to make sure I don't make much noise. I walk down the stairs carefully, with each step my thigh feels like it's being stretched further and further.

When I reach the bottom I look at my phone's cracked screen and see that Tori texted me that she's on her way back to California.

My phone still works perfectly, despite the cracked screen, and that seems like a good sign for me, I think. It was in the crash with me, and it was….well….._scarred, _just like me, yet it still works fine. I can only hope that that means I'll be able to come back just fine too.

I called Tori last night when I got home from the hospital, she'd started crying hysterically on the other end saying how sorry she was that she wasn't there when I woke up and how she'd be on the next flight back as soon as possible. I knew why she was really crying though, it wasn't regret, it was relief.

She thought I was going to die, everyone thought I was going to die. She didn't think I'd wake up and the doctors would switch off the machines in the next few days. She didn't want to be around when it happened.

I figured it out when I heard the complete shock in her voice when she'd asked me three times if it was really, _really_ me.

I've known Tori for as long as I can remember and when bad things happen, she doesn't like to be around to see the end result. Like the time she was caught cheating on a Spanish test in eighth grade and she camped out in a bush in her backyard for hours to avoid going home to face her parents.

Tori never has been very good at handling bad situations, she panics and usually runs off for a while. So I can't say that I'm surprised that she wasn't even in town when I woke up.

_"I'm so sorry, Avery. I wish I'd…..I'm sorry," Tori's voice says in a sob, "I love you so much, but I can't be here when you….. So I'm going to New York, I'm going to see that musical you love so much." Her voice echoes through the bleak darkness in my head, "Because, because it's the only way I can do this. I want to do something you love," her voice breaks, "as a final goodbye. God, I'm gonna miss you." Her sobs fade back into the darkness. _

I practically limp towards the mat in front of the door and slowly lower myself down towards my running shoes. I never bother untying my tennis shoes since I train with Luke three times a week during the summer and twice a week during school. I slip them on and reach up and use the door knob to pull myself back up. "This is ridiculous." I mumble to myself as I realize just how miserable training is going to be today.

* * *

**Derek **

My legs carry me easily rough the forest, never missing a step. I'm even faster now as alpha than I ever was before, and it's nice to be able to patrol my turf with such speed. I've been out patrolling now for about an hour or two, I couldn't sleep, or I didn't really want to sleep anyway, I'm tired of those damn dreams, tired of what they do to me. Tired of seeing _her_, tired of what _she _does to me.

Without even being conscious.

Damn, I need to get a grip.

So I've been spending my nights out in the forest, searching for signs of the other alpha resurfacing in Beacon Hills.

But as I approach my house, I catch a familiar scent. I slow down as I take the final strides up the porch steps and swing my door open before stepping inside. I follow the scent into the living room to find the blonde laying on the old charred couch.

Erica lays with her head propped up on her arm, her dirty blonde hair is whisked back over her shoulders. Two spindly straps hold up a low cut red tank top that leaves the top of her black lace bra in plain sight. Tight dark blue skinny jeans cling tightly to her thin legs as she pretends to be preoccupied looking at her nails.

"You sure know how to keep a girl waiting, Derek." She says with an impatient huff. She looks me up and down as I come to stand in front of her with my arms folded across my chest.

"What are you doing here in the first place?" I ask in a flat tone. She quirks an eyebrow and a sly smile pulls at her red lips as she slowly draws herself off the couch towards me.

"Well, let's just say I've been sensing your unrest lately," she comes within an arms length and I let my arms fall to my side as she begins circling around me, "your, uh…._hunger_, let's say." she leans in and whispers in my ear .

I can't hold back a small chuckle as her words sink in, "And so of course you come here at," I take a second to glance over at the clock in the kitchen, "six in the morning?" I let out another short chuckle and a light growl rumbles in Erica's throat at my laughter.

"I've been here for a while now actually," her hands slowly begin trailing up my back and loop around my neck as her lips brush my ear, "just waiting for y-"

My cell phone rings and I tear her arms from around my neck as I reach in my pocket, pull out my phone and make my way into the kitchen.

Incoming call: Boyd

I hit 'accept' and bring the phone up to my ear, "Derek?" Boyd asks on the other end.

"Yeah, go ahead," I look back to see Erica glaring back at me.

"We've been keeping tabs on Avery like you asked."

"And?" I ask impatiently.

"She's at the high school track right now with some dude; looks like a physical rehab guy…..? Just thought you should know in case you wanted to come take a look." Boyd's voice sounds uneasy.

"How's she doing?" Boyd sighs on the other end.

"Not spectacular," Isaac's voice chimes in, "she looks like she's in a lot of pain with her leg but I guess you expected that."

* * *

**Boyd**

Isaac and I kneel behind the bleachers as Avery and the instructor carry on, "-have to be patient Avery, this isn't going to get better over night, it's something you're going to have to ease back into." The middle-aged man says as Avery grimaces and grips her brace. His hands come to rest on his hips as he looks down at her with a concerned stare.

I remember watching her play a couple times, she was damn fast before, but now… now she just looks miserable and pained.

"Hold on," Isaac says quietly to Derek, "she's talking."

"I haven't even taken my brace off yet!" she says in an exasperated tone. "Luke, what am I gonna do?" she asks in desperation; she's sitting down on the track with her hands grabbing at her brace, as if that will make the pain lessen.

The man sighs and lets his hand fall from his hips, "The only thing you can do," he holds out a large hand to her, "get up and try again." Avery looks at his hand with hesitation.

"I don't-" her voice cracks and she takes a deep breath to hold back tears, "I don't know if I can do this." she says in a quiet voice to avoid her emotions spilling out. She looks down then to the side, trying to avoid looking at him.

He squats in front of her, "This isn't like you Avery; is there something you need to talk about?" Her face reddens with every passing minute as she tries to contain her emotion.

"I'm just- what if I never come back from this?" She angrily wipes her tears away, "I just don't know what I'm gonna do if I can't play, that's all this has ever been about, and if I can't play then everything I've done, everything I've worked for-"

"Don't talk like that, champ!" the man says suddenly, "It sounds like you've already let a little scar beat you, and that's not like you." The man stares intently back at her as sucks in a shaky breath, "You're letting your fear get to you, I've seen it happen with countless athletes; they tear an ACL, they break an ankle, they rip a muscle and they quit because of the pain, because of the **fear**. Now I'm not saying this is gonna be easy cuz' it's not. You know my motto; 'be uncomfortable', now you can say you can't do this all you want, but **I **know you've got it in you, now get up," he holds out his hand to her again as he stands and points to the track, "and let's see you try again."

"Damn," Isaac whispers next to me as Avery nods her head and takes the man named Luke's hand, "got my heart pumping a bit," I look down at my hands to see my claws are out and I notice that so are Isaac's. We look at each other for a quick moment.

"Question is, if that was enough to get _us_ pumped up," I hold up a clawed hand, "then what's keeping her from changing? She's new to the whole werewolf thing, she should be easy to incite."

Isaac raises the phone back to his ear, "Derek, did you say pain can keep someone from changing?" I look back at the track to see Avery jogging with another pained look on her face.

I listen close enough to hear Derek on the other end; "Yeah, the easiest way to keep someone from changing is through physical pain, to an extent."

"Well then I don't think we're gonna have to worry about her changing for a while then." Isaac says in a sigh.

"That bad,?" Derek asks flatly.

"I just don't get it, why isn't her leg healing?" Isaac asks. Before I finally grab my phone back.

"It might heal if she changed…" Derek's voice is slow and frustrated.

"And since the pain is keeping her human," I begin as Isaac turns the phone so he can speak into it.

"and being human is keeping her from healing….?" He finishes.

"Exactly." is all Derek says in response. Luke suddenly reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cell phone. He quickly texts something on the phone and slides it back in his pocket.

"So what are we going do with her?" I ask as I watch Avery jog by.

"You're not going to _do_ anything with her; just keep tabs on her and let me know when she's alone. I think it's time I talk to her." And with that, the phone call ends.

I slide my phone back into my leather jacket's pocket, "Avery," Luke says as she jogs towards him, he holds up his hands and she comes to a stop in front of him, "how's it feeling now?"

She looks down at her leg and bites her lip, "Still not great." He stands there for a moment just looking at her brace and pursing his lips.

"Your mom still runnin' that ballet studio in the basement?"

Avery rolls her eyes, "Like she'd _ever_ give it up." she says sarcastically.

"I think we're done for today but if you wanna go home and do a little bit of that it wouldn't be a bad idea. Ballet is good for stretching muscles and that might help build the strength back up in your leg. We'll pick back up on Wednesday. Alright, champ?" The man asks as he turns and walks to the gate.

"Right," Avery whispers to herself as she turns to face the lacrosse field in the center of the track. "Right." she looks down at the track as she slowly makes her way towards the gate and from there to the parking lot.

"Should we follow her?" Isaac asks absently.

"Derek told us to keep an eye on her, so yeah." All of a sudden Avery stops dead in her tracks and whips around toward the bleachers.

* * *

**Avery**

I listen closely for a long minute, and I can swear I heart a light pounding… like… like a _heart._ I look back to the gate to check that Luke is gone and I catch a glimpse of his car pulling out of the lot. I turn back to the bleachers and take a few cautious steps to the back of the metal structure.

All of a sudden, the pounding is gone, and I'm surrounded by nothing but silence. I step out behind the bleachers and find nothing there. The rising sun shines down brightly, sending a warmth across my back. I could've sworn I heard someone…it sounded like they were so close.

"Of course it's nothing," I say to myself as I tuck a stray hair behind my ear, "of course it's nothing." I reassure myself as I walk back to the track. My leg didn't hurt as much halfway through the second jog, I wanted to go faster but the brace isn't exactly easy to move in.

I grab my mom's keys and my water bottle from beside the gate and walk back to my mom's car in the parking lot. I doubt she'll be happy about me taking her car, but I had to get here somehow and walking is definitely out of the question.

I unlock her car and lower myself into the driver's seat. I miss my car, sure my mom's impala is nicer but I miss my old baby. It makes me sad when I think of it twisted and destroyed in some junk yard or something.

I push the thought from my mind as I start the engine. The car comes to life with a hum. It's nothing like the roar of that Camaro's from the hospital; that thing shook the ground when he revved the engine.

I put the car in reverse and back out of the space, my mind still focused on the mystery man in the parking lot. My mom didn't even react when he sped by, she didn't look like she'd heard anything at all. And his eyes…. His eyes were fucking _glowing_ I mean… Come _on._

"_Now you might have some strange side effects; weird dreams, blackouts in your memory, sudden bursts of emotion, maybe even some hallucinations."_

I suddenly hit the brakes at the parking lot exit. "So it was just my imagination…?" I stare at the black road in front of me. No cars go by; the way is clear to pull out. And yet I sit, staring at the asphalt. "God what's happening to me…..?" I whisper to myself.

After a long minute I shake my head and turn the radio on to drain out my thoughts. Danni California by Red Hot Chili Peppers comes on and I turn it up until I can't hear myself think anymore. Because if I start thinking I'll end up wondering about the party and the accident and Jake…. God what the hell happened to him anyway?

Where is he? Did he even visit me in the hospital?

I know the answer is sitting folded up on my dresser, but….do I even want to know? I shake my head, of course I want to know. I _have_ to know…. Right….?

I reach over and turn the music even louder. A few minutes later I pull into the driveway and turn the car off. I grab my water bottle, keys and phone before dragging myself up the stairs and through the front door.

I close the door slowly so it doesn't make a noise. Usually my mom sleeps till at least 10 unless she has a class or something she has to get done in the morning. I climb the stairs quietly so she won't hear me.

I've always resented ballet in a way; sometimes I feel like it's the reason my mom is so unsupportive of lacrosse, that and the fact that my dad was the one who encouraged me to play when I was 10.

But if ballet will help my leg get stronger then that's what I'll do. I walk into my room and find my ballet shoes before making my way down to the basement.

The light shines through the wall of windows on the far side of the room. I slip off my tennis shoes and socks and lace my slippers up. I normally only practice in tights a leotard and a cover skirt but I don't feel like taking off the brace to slip the tights on today, I just want to get to work.

I walk toward the balance bar that stands by the huge wall mirror and grip the wooden beam tightly in my hand as I slowly bring my bad leg up and extend it across the bar. My thigh feels like it's tearing but I force myself to stretch it out further.

Outside the windows birds chirp happily and I try to focus on their little songs as I lower my right leg and shift all my weight on it as I repeat the motion with my left leg. I can feel the muscles in my leg shake with effort.

I'm so sick of not being able to run or jog or even walk comfortably . I'm tired of the pain every time I so much as lift my leg.

_Why is this happening!? What did I do to deserve this!? Sneak out for one damned night?_

A crunch makes me open my eyes. I look down to see my hands clamped around the wooden beam which is now splintering under my grasp. My vision is red, and I can smell the metallic scent of blood as it drips from my palms onto the polished floor below me. I slowly look into the mirror as the red fades from my vision.

Cold, angry gold eyes stare back at me. Two huge fang-like teeth prick my bottom lip, and I feel completely detached from myself. I inwardly scream, and I force my eyes shut.

When I open them a dark figure in the mirror behind me catches my attention. The man, the same man with the camaro as in my dream and the parking lot… His eyes are the same eerie red as before; he stands with his hands in his leather jacket just as in my dream, a confident open-footed stance.

I spin around to speak only to find him gone, with no sign of where he could've gone. I look back to the mirror to see my normal dark blue eyes staring back, with no hint of the hostility there was before. I sink down to my knees and clutch the bar just to keep from crashing onto the floor.

I turn and lean my back against the mirror and stare blankly at the spot where he stood. I feel the tears slowly drain down my face as I just stare at where he'd been. I close my eyes as a familiar sensation washes over me.

_Darkness. There's only darkness and cold and….. "God, I'm gonna miss you." Tori's voice calls through the darkness. I scream at myself to speak, to open my mouth, to let her know I'm here, I'm alive, I'm fine. _

To let her know not to go; not to leave me here in the darkness by myself. But she can't hear me scream, I listen as the sound of her footsteps fade away. Something inside me breaks as I hear the sound of a door being closed.

I open my eyes and find I really _am_ surrounded with darkness. My arms encircle my legs keeping them close to my chest just as before, only there's no mirror to lean on behind me, no polished floor under me, and no light around me.

I look around in disbelief as a cool night breeze blows through my ponytail. In the distance I can hear the chirping of the crickets and the swaying of the trees. I squeeze my eyes shut tight, praying it's just a hallucination.

* * *

**Derek**

"So, she's just been sitting here, alone in the dark?" I ask in a confused voice. Avery sits on the track, staring blankly at the other side of the field holding her legs tight against her chest. I can see her clearly, but whether or not she can see anything is a mystery.

I learned with Erica and Boyd that sometimes the abilities don't work in the beginning, or at least haven't "settled in yet", as Isaac put it.

"Yeah, we did what you said, we kept an eye on her and about three hours ago she just walked out her house and came here. She's been like this ever since." Isaac says in a whisper. I'm crouched at the edge of the forest with a clear view of the stadium, Isaac and Boyd are crouched to my right, and Erica sits at my left.

"She's just been _staring_ at _nothing_?" Erica asks in a snort, "Sounds like we've got a cuckoo on our hands." she says with a smug hum. I hold back a growl as I squint to get a better look at Avery.

"Ohhh, we've got a cuckoo alright," Isaac says as he leans forward to look Erica in the eyes, "but it ain't her."

"Enough." I say just as Erica opens her mouth to retaliate. "Something's going on with her."

"It happened to all of us." Erica says in a mumble.

"Hate to say it, but she's got a point." Isaac agrees.

"This is… different." I say as I stare at Avery's motionless form. "Boyd, go turn the lights on, Isaac, Erica, you two can go home." Boyd quickly jumps up and runs toward the electrical shed. Isaac makes his way deeper into the woods and after a couple long minutes, Erica does the same.

* * *

**Avery**

A burst of light makes me jump up, and I look to see a stadium light on the far end of the field has turned on, allowing me to make out that I'm at the school's lacrosse field, sitting on the track facing the center of the field.

Flashes of the ballet studio cross my mind; the crunching of the wooden bar, the blood dripping on the floor, and the man in the mirror. I look down at my hands and see no wounds, but my palms are stained with dried blood. I notice I'm not wearing my ballet slippers, instead my sneakers are on, and my brace is firmly in place.

"What the….?" I look around me as another field light comes to life, illuminating another part of the field. "How did I…?"

"_Now you might have some strange side effects; weird dreams, blackouts in your memory, sudden bursts of emotion, maybe even some hallucinations."_

So… I forgot I came here? I had a.. a memory blackout?

The light over the center of the field flips on, shining bright light clearly over the red BH in the center of the field.

No, no, this is just like my dream, except at the school…. So it's a dream. It has to be a dream.

As the final light turns on, a shadow catches my eye. As the shadow draws closer I can see more details; leather jacket, jeans, grey t-shirt, black hair…. But no red eyes. Of course it's the same man, the same imaginary man.

He walks calmly towards me until he's maybe ten feet away on the field. I lean forward and rest my chin on my knee as I stare at him. In a few minutes, he'll let out the same roar and I'll wake up, but I want to remember every detail about him; the way his stubble lines his jaw, how the leather jacket hugs his shoulders perfectly, even his confident stance.

He seems taken back as I relax and look him over, "What're you doing here Avery?" I look back at him in confusion.

That voice…

I need to hear him say something, I need to keep him talking, something tells me I know him… "Waiting." Is all I can manage to say. His eyebrows furrow.

"Waiting for what?" Something inside my head screams at me, something just below the surface…

I raise my head and mirror his perplexed expression. I should've woken up by now. He's never… _talked_ to me. "Waiting to wake up." I say as I lean back and push myself uneasily off the ground and up on my feet. To my surprise, my leg doesn't hurt, but I guess pain doesn't really happen in dreams.

I take a small, stumbling step since my legs feel numb, and close my eyes as I try to place where I know him from, "Can you just," I bite my lip for a quick second, "can you just say something?" When he doesn't respond I open my eyes to see him looking me up and down again.

"C'mon, just say _something._" He looks towards the parking lot for a moment as if he's trying to think.

"You shouldn't be out here, not in your conditio-"

_"Wake up, Avery. Wake up!" _

I jump back as my eyes go wide. "You were there; you were in the hospital, I- I heard you." His jaw tenses, but he makes no move to deny it, "You were, weren't you? I remember your voice." I close my eyes as I hear his words echo in my head.

I open them slowly and look at the ground between us. "All my friends, my family, they were… they were all begging me to wake up, get better, and I could hear them, I was screaming at them that I was there, but I couldn't move, I couldn't open my eyes." tears slowly crowd my eyes. I'm so tired of the tears.

"But I couldn't do it; I couldn't get up, no matter how much they begged, no matter how much I screamed," my voice comes out as a choke as I look up at him, seeing for the first time not a glowing red, but a pair of deep green eyes.

Slowly, realization sets in and I take a couple steps forward, "You're…" I reach a hand out towards his chest, "you're real." I say in a relieved voice as my hand makes contact with something real, warm, and very much alive.

"I'm not crazy." I say with a smile as I look up to see him staring down at me with an unreadable expression.

* * *

**Erica**

"C'mon, Erica, Derek told us to go." Isaac tugs at my arm. I dig my heels in and he gives in, coming to stand by my side. I watch as Avery reaches out and places her hand on Derek's chest.

I barely hold in a snarl. At my side, Isaac whistles lowly. "You hear that?" he asks in surprise.

"No, what?" I can't take my eyes off of her hand on his chest long enough to look at Isaac.

"His heartbeat picked up." I tear my gaze away from the two and look at Isaac with wide eyes.

"It did _not_." Isaac grins widely and I turn my attention back to the two of them in time to see her take her hand away, "it did _not._" Isaac chuckles and takes off running back through the woods.

"_Isaac!_" I yell after him as I run to catch him, "_Liar!_"

* * *

_**Author's Note: Alright, so yeah Avery is having a bit of trouble what with the whole forgetting how she got to the field thing and the mirror incident.. but don't worry, she'll be fine soon enough... better than fine not long after that, if y'know what I mean ^_^ **_

_**I know I left some loose ends this chapter but I'll tie 'em up next chapter so no worries if some things just don't fit. Also, the timing might be off, as in I'm probably gonna send them back to school in the next couple of chapters so sorry about that. **_

_**Sooo, what did ya think of Avery's little meltdown? I thought it was cool but if you didn't don't worry, it was a one time thing...I think. But when she was talking to Derek she started remembering more of what people were saying to her so her memory is coming back. I'll get back on track with Sheriff Stilinski next chapter I think and get that bit rolling. **_

_**Please let me know what you thought and thanks for reading! :)**_


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